


Finding Home

by PixieFrosch



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Human Exceeds, Multi, My First Work in This Fandom, Unconventional Families
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-11
Updated: 2017-06-03
Packaged: 2018-04-14 04:47:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 25,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4551057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PixieFrosch/pseuds/PixieFrosch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rogue Cheney's only plan for surviving a new school is to keep his head down. Maybe that way nobody will notice him. However, Rogue's plan has one fatal flaw - Sting Eucliffe.</p><p>*Please read authors note*</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue - Moving In

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first ever fanfic, and you would think that I'd do something slightly easier like a one shot, but no. I gotta do things the hard way. I will try my best to finish this, and possibly even update regularly (but I am starting Uni soon), but who knows.... and I know there won't be a lot of people reading this, but even one person would be amazing as far as I'm concerned, so I'm gonna stop talking and just get on with the story now....

Rogue Cheney was not a people person. It wasn't that he was rude to them, or disliked them at all - he just never had anything to say. He was possibly the worst conversation starter in the world (which explained why he never even tried) and even if he did speak to someone, it was usually only to supply them with a necessary answer to their questions.

Which is why it came as a huge shock to everyone at the children's home - Rogue included - when Makarov Dreyar decided to adopt him. Rogue was sixteen - well past the preferred age of adoption - and he barely ever spoke. The care workers couldn't for the life of them figure out the reasoning behind the old man's decision.

Rogue suspected it had something to do with his little sister. Frosch Cheney had just turned seven and was (in Rogue's opinion) the most adorable little kid on the planet. She had big brown eyes and long green pigtails and only ever wore cute little frog hoodies and matching skirts in a variety of different colours (though pink was her favourite).

The more Rogue thought about it, the more he was sure that the only reason he was getting adopted was because Frosch refused to leave him. He didn't care about that, and Frosch wanted to go, so he went with her. If there was one thing Rogue cared about, it was his sister, so when Makarov showed up to take them home, they were already waiting in the hallway, Frosch clinging tightly to his hand.

After signing the adoption papers, Makarov made his way over to the mismatched siblings and smiled up at Rogue.

"And how are you today, young man?"

There was something about Makarov's gaze that made Rogue feel like the old man could stare into his soul, so he instantly looked away.

"Fine," he replied.

"And what about you, little pink frog?" Unlike when he was speaking to Rogue, Makarov didn't need to look up to speak to Frosch - the two were the same height.

"Fro is fine too!" The little girl smiled brightly.

"Well then, let's get you two in the car." Makarov said, leading them out into the scorching summer heat. Frosch was boiling in her hoodie, but refused to take it off, and Rogue was overheating too but for once in his life, he didn't mind.


	2. Chapter 1 - Settling Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know I said I'd update regularly - then uni happened! Its been mad, but one of my friends read the prologue and fell in love with Fro and I promised her I'd update, so here we are! Hope you like it :)

“Rogue! Rogue, get up! We gotta go to school!”

Rogue groaned, shifted, and pulled the covers over his head.

“Rogue, c’mon! You promised you’d take Fro!”

The dark-haired teen refused to move.

“Rogue, c’mon! We’re gonna be late if you don’t get up! Rogue!” The voice trying to wake him moved from the floor to the middle of the bed as his little sister began to bounce up and down on the mattress. There was no way he was going to get to stay in bed now. Rogue slowly emerged from under the covers and blinked his eyes open.

“You’re awake! Yay!” Frosch grinned and tackle-hugged her brother, pinning him down. “Now we can go get ready!” Frosch ran off, smiling, just as Rogue sat up and caught sight of something on his bedside table.

Something no teenager should ever have to see.

He almost wanted to cry.

“Fro?” He called out, waiting for a head of green hair to appear in the doorway. “Frosch!”

Rogue’s face was a perfect mixture of annoyance and defeat as the tiny girl sprinted back in, jumped on the bed, and pushed her face right up close to his.

“Why aren’t you up yet?” she asked accusingly.

“Frosch. It’s five o’clock,” he said, pointing at the clock on the table.

“So?”

“So go back to bed.”

“But Fro doesn’t wanna be late…”

“We won’t be. Go back to sleep. I’ll wake you up at seven.”

“But…”

Rogue gave his sister his best ‘I am really unimpressed right now’ look.

“Okay then…” Frosch got up and went back to her own room, tugging on the sleeve of her pink frog onesie, and Rogue flopped back down on the bed and didn’t move for the next two hours.

 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rogue was already showered and dressed in a pair of black jeans and a grey shirt by the time he went to wake his sister. Frosch’s room had transformed in the six weeks they’d been living with Makarov and was and explosion of pink and green so bright it hurt Rogue’s eyes to look at it. He made his way across the pink froggy carpet, past the green froggy dresser and over to the green froggy bed, where Frosch was trying her hardest to pretend that she was sleeping.

“You can get up now.”

Frosch was obviously not doing a very good job at pretending, because as soon as the words left Rogue’s mouth, she sat up eagerly and grinned at him.

“Come on, frog face. Breakfast,” Rogue told her, a small smile on his face.

Rogue followed his sister downstairs into the kitchen where Makarov was already sat with his grandson, Laxus. Laxus was a tall blond senior with a lightning shaped scar across his right eye. He looked intimidating at first glance and could probably bench a small car, but he was actually a pretty nice guy. He didn’t mind helping Rogue out every now and then, and he always tried to keep Fro out of trouble whenever it was possible.

“There are pancakes on the counter,” Makarov informed them.

Rogue nodded his thanks and grabbed two plates from the cupboard before sitting down. Frosch followed him over and started to draw a frog on her pancake with the syrup, tongue stuck out of her mouth in concentration.

“So how are you two feeling about school?” Makarov asked.

“Fro is excited! Fro wants to go now!”

“I give it a month before she changes her mind about it,” Laxus grinned.

“Two.” Rogue replied.

Laxus smirked. “Wanna bet?”

Rogue raised an eyebrow.

“Twenty Jewel.” Laxus stuck his hand out and Rogue nodded once, and then shook it.

Makarov cleared his throat. “Well, now that we’re all done gambling our money away across the breakfast table, perhaps you’d like to drive these two to school, Laxus?”

“Sure thing, old man.”

“Fro thinks so too!”

“Laxus thinks you’d better get dressed, little frog.” Laxus said, ruffling Frosch’s hair.

“Right!”

 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the end, Makarov went with Rogue and Frosch to Fro’s school, while Laxus drove on ahead to the High School. Fiore Elementary School was a pretty little red brick building surrounded by flower beds and little gravel pathways, most of which led to the reception at the main entrance. Rogue held Frosch’s hand as they walked, his bright red eyes scanning the hallways as they entered the school (contrary to popular belief, Rogue could actually see through the thick black curtain of hair that obscured his right eye, even if nobody else could), Frosch becoming more and more quiet the further they walked. Several other teenagers walked past with younger siblings including a teenage boy with blond hair and his little brother (who had red hair and looked to be about Frosch’s age), and a young blue haired girl who seemed barely old enough for high school who was dragging along a complaining white-haired child slightly older than Fro.

By the time they reached the classroom, Frosch was completely silent and trying to hide beneath Rogue’s black leather jacket. The little green-haired girl was shaking so hard, Rogue was almost certain she would fall to pieces.

“Fro?” he asked, squatting down to eye level.

“Fro…Fro…” Frosch was practically in tears by this point, leaving Rogue to calm her down as Makarov had already gone into the classroom to speak to her teacher.

“What’s wrong?”

Frosch pulled her hood up over her head and looked down at the floor. “Fro… Fro doesn’t want to go! Fro doesn’t like it, what if everyone’s mean and they pull my pigtails like they did in my last school?” At this point, Frosch burst into tears, letting out massive sobs of terror.

“No, no, no, they won’t! I promise!” Rogue reached and hugged his little sister. He couldn’t stand it when she started crying, it practically broke his heart. “I know they were mean to you in your last school, but this one seems nicer, and if anyone pulls your pigtails, they won’t only hear from me, but they’ll hear from Laxus now, too, right?”

Frosch sniffed. “But what if no one likes Fro and she can’t make friends?”

“Of course they’ll like you, everyone loves you. You’re adorable, and you’re always nice to everyone and you share your toys so you’ll be fine.” Rogue pulled back from the hug and gave Frosch a tissue. He’d probably spoken more in the last two minutes than he had the entire time they’d been living with Makarov.

“How do you know?” Fro asked, wiping her eyes.

“Because… I’m smart and I’m your big brother. So I know things. Things like how you’re coming with me after school to get ice cream.”

“Really?” Fro’s face brightened instantly, and Rogue sighed in relief.

“Really, really.”

“You promise?”

“Promise.”

“But that doesn’t mean I’ll make friends.”

Rogue cursed inwardly. “Well you’re never going to make friends if you stay out here.”

Fro’s lip started to tremble at the thought of going back inside and Rogue was seriously considering giving in to her adorable puppy dog eyes when the red-headed boy he’d seen earlier with an older brother poked his head out of the door cautiously and made his way over.

“Hey! I’m Lector!” he said addressing Frosch directly.

Fro immediately panicked and hid behind Rogue, but the boy didn’t move and just stood there smiling at her.

“Aren’t you gonna tell me your name?” Lector asked.  
Frosch looked back at Rogue, who stood up and pushed her forwards gently.

“Fro… Fro is called Frosch,” she replied, chewing on the sleeve of her hoodie.

“Cool! Only I heard you say you didn’t think you’d have friends, and you’re gonna be in my class, Miss Connell said so, so… you can be my friend if you want.” Lector offered.

“Really?”

“Yeah!”

“Okay then!” Frosch smiled for the first time they’d reached the school and Rogue allowed himself to breathe once more, until Makarov popped up out of nowhere and scared him once again.

“In that case,” Makarov told Fro, “You should get into class with your new friend before you’re late, little frog.”

Fro turned back to Rogue. “Bye!”

“See you later frog face.” He replied before Frosch ran off after Lector, no doubt to cause all kinds of trouble.

“Well then. I think we’d better get you off to school too.” Makarov said, before leading Rogue back out to the car.


	3. Chapter 2 - Starting School

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! I've had some really nice comments (well, one, but that was enough) which has motivated me to keep going, so chapter 2! Rogue actually speaks to people other than Frosch, we get to meet Sting (even though we technically saw him in the last one) and Rogue starts school, in case you didn't guess from the chapter title. I really hope you guys like it, and if there's anything that happens that normally wouldn't in high school, I'd just like to put out there that this is an AU so I feel like I'm allowed to have some creative license, right? :)

Unlike his sister, Rogue didn’t need Makarov to come with him to reception to sort out his paperwork, so when Makarov pulled up outside Magnolia High, he merely nodded his goodbye to the old man, slinging the strap of his plain black messenger bag across his shoulder.

Magnolia High had no gravel paths or flower beds like Fiore Elementary, but instead looked out onto a large grass field sprinkled with trees. Rogue made his way cautiously through the car park to the main building, where he stopped and waited patiently at the desk until the lilac-haired receptionist noticed him.

“Oh, hello. Can I help you?” She asked, slightly unnerved by Rogues single visible crimson eye.

“I’m new here. Rogue Cheney.”

“Oh, of course, you’re living with the Dreyars, right? I’ve heard about you.”

Rogue offered no reply other than a curt nod.

“Right then,” said the receptionist, seeing that she wouldn’t be getting any kind of conversation from him. “I believe you chose most of your classes when you applied to the school?”

Rogue nodded again.

“Can I just confirm you chose Music, Physical education, English literature, Art, Chemistry and Biology?”

Rogue nodded for a third time.

“Okay, if you would just like to sign this form, I can send you straight off to homeroom.”

Rogue signed the form he was given, handed it back and accepted his timetable in return. Maths and English language were listed as compulsory as was World history, but other than that, they were all subjects he’d chosen.

“That’s everything,” the receptionist said with a smile. “I deal with everything class related, so if you ever need anything, you know where to come. My name is Miss Olietta.”

Rogue nodded, ready to leave.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I almost forgot. Yukino?” Miss Olietta called out across the reception to a girl with light blue hair so pale it was almost white, who had been sitting in the corner with a book on astronomy. The girl came over when called and Rogue saw that she was dressed almost entirely in white, with the exception of the blue leggings she wore under her dress and a blue scarf. How she kept her clothes clean was a mystery to him.

Miss Olietta turned back to Rogue. “This is Yukino Agria. She’s going to be your student guide for the first week while you get used to things.”

Yukino smiled at Rogue. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Rogue sighed. He really didn’t need a student guide. He was pretty sure he could find his way around by himself and he really didn’t need the nosiness that came with being the new kid in a school full of nosy people. Still, it was just for a week and if that was all he had to put up with on his first day, things could be a lot worse.

“So, um, your homeroom teacher is Gildarts Clive. I’m guessing you took PhysEd, because that’s his subject, and well, you’re in his homeroom.” Yukino seemed nervous and avoided looking him in the eye. “It’s, um, it’s this way.” She said, pointing out of the rear entrance to the building.

Rogue nodded his thanks to the receptionist and followed Yukino out of the rear entrance and over to the gym across the campus, where she led him over to a side classroom that was obviously used for teaching theory.

“I, um, I’m not in your homeroom, but I’ll be leaving mine early to meet you back here. We have Math first. You probably know that though because of your timetable. So, um, I’m going now.” Yukino said, turning to leave.

It wasn’t very often Rogue offered up information out of choice, and nor did he really care about anyone that he didn’t really know, but for some reason, he felt sorry for this girl. She was obviously painfully shy and he couldn’t understand why someone so obviously introverted would be given the job of showing the new guy round the school.

“I don’t bite, you know.” He said quietly.

“I... I’m sorry?” Yukino said.

“I don’t bite. You don’t need to be so nervous.”

“Um, thanks.” Yukino relaxed visibly, even if the smile she gave was still slightly forced. Rogue didn’t see the need to return the smile, but instead nodded once more (he was going to get a neck ache if he kept all this nodding up) and made his way into the classroom.

It. Was. Chaos.

Pens were flying everywhere; a tall skinny ginger kid was trying to start an argument with a scary looking guy that had more hair than a hippie and more piercings than an entire metal band (which seemed like a bad idea on the ginger kid’s part, because the other guy was ripped as hell). A boy with pink hair and a dragon scale scarf was in the middle of a full on fistfight with a boy who had a messy shock of jet black hair and who was, for some unknown reason, in the process of stripping down to his boxers.

Over to the side of the room, a boy in snakeskin trousers with white hair and a snowflake earring (who was also shirtless, and Rogue could not for the life of him understand why) was yelling at the other half-naked boy to keep his clothes on. A huge kid with a scar on his face and even whiter hair than the boy with the snowflake earring (seriously, he must have been twice as tall as Yukino) was lying in the middle of the floor, muttering about how fighting was “manly”.

And right in the middle of the action, leaning back on his chair and laughing at the fighting like the all-out war in the classroom was the best thing he’d ever seen, was the spiky-haired blond boy with the earring from Frosch’s school, who Rogue recognized as being Lector’s older brother. At least, he was laughing, until a curtain of red pushed its way past Rogue into the centre of the room and yelled at everyone.

“ENOUGH!!”

If Rogue had been the sort of person to be intimidated easily, he would be wetting himself on the floor right now. Luckily for him, he wasn’t, but the sound of the redhead’s voice was still enough to make him regret everything he’d ever done wrong, and most of the things he’d done right, too. It seemed like everyone else in the room felt the same way though, because everyone stopped what they were doing, and the pink-haired boy and the half-naked guy actually started hugging each other.

“Natsu. Gray. Why is it every time I walk into a room that the two of you are in, you’re fighting?” The redhead asked. “And Gray, how many times do I have to tell you to keep your clothes on?”

The half- naked guy (Gray, Rogue told himself) stopped hugging the pink-haired boy (who could only be Natsu) and sheepishly started picking his clothes up off the floor instead.

“You too, Lyon. Honestly, I know you’re brothers, but I’ve never understood your shared need to constantly strip.” The redhead added.

The kid with the snakeskin trousers followed suit, putting his shirt back on and reaching for his jacket.

“Gajeel. Jet. You’re just as bad as each other. Levy’s never going to date either of you if you’re at each other’s throats all the time.”

The pierced guy and the ginger kid (who was now pinned against the wall) released each other and turned to face the redhead.

“Levy doesn’t like him anyway!”

“Yeah, well I never said nothin’ about likin’ her either, pointy teeth.”

“Like you can talk, metal face.”

“Boys…” The redhead warned. “And Elfman… Just get up off the floor.” She said, addressing the huge kid lying in the middle of the room, who did as he was told.

“Well, now that that’s sorted out- ” the redhead cut herself off midsentence, seemingly starting at something in the corner of the room that had caught her attention. “Juvia. How many times do I need to tell you that stalking Gray is never going to get you his attention?”

A pretty blue-haired girl in a Russian style winter hat peeked her head up from beneath a desk. She at least had the decency to look ashamed about it, and the redhead didn’t even seem mad at her. Gray, however, seemed less than impressed.

“Jeez, Juvia.”

At that moment, the teacher decided to walk in, and everyone slowly made their way to a desk and sat down. Rogue quickly made his way to the back corner, not wanting to stand out, and not having been noticed yet. Or so he thought. In actual fact, the blond in the middle of the room had already spotted him trying to hide in the shadows, but he wasn’t about to call Rogue out on it. It wasn’t his problem.

Gildarts Clive was a tall ginger man in his mid-forties, who looked like he’d gotten in to one too many fights over the years. He seemed completely out of his comfort zone in front of a class of sixteen year olds, but he was actually a really good teacher. One look from him, and the entire class was silent.

“For those of you who don’t know, my name is Gildarts Clive. You guys can call me Gildarts though, ‘cause let’s face it, Mr. Clive just sounds terrible.”

Natsu smirked.

“Okay, so I haven’t taught all of you before, and not all of you have met before, which means that you guys get to do an icebreaker.” Gildarts announced chirpily. Almost half the class groaned. “I am going to hand out a sheet with a list of the names of everyone in the class. Each one of you in the class will be on a sports team. You cannot leave this classroom until you have filled in the preferred sport of everyone on that list. If you put down a sport at random, I will know. If you copy from another student, I will know. I am all-powerful.” Gildarts joked. “You can start when you’re ready.”

Rogue merely stared at the piece of paper placed in front of him. He sure as hell wasn’t going around the entire classroom and talking to every single person just to find out what kind of sports they liked, but if making it up was out of the question he was going to have to do something. Gildarts never said anything about not listening in to other people’s conversations… Plus it would save him some time just getting the answers as they were told.

The other students were already out of their seats and making their way around the room. The only person who seemed to know nearly everyone was the redheaded girl who’d silenced everyone earlier, and even she didn’t know everyone’s preferred sport. Let’s face it, the possibilities were endless. Rogue decided to start with the two people next to him – who just happened to be Natsu and the blue-haired stalker girl (Julia? Rogue scanned the list – there was no Julia, but there was a Juvia Lockser) who stated her preference for swimming, while he told her he was a member of the football team. Rogue filled in ‘swim team for Juvia, and ‘football team’ for Natsu, who’s surname was Dragneel and was therefore right below Rogue on the list.

The next pair he filled in was Lyon (the white haired stripper brother) and Elfman (the white haired floor hugger) who were on the ice hockey and wrestling teams respectively. Rogue was actually finding the task quite interesting – he’d never have thought a guy who spent his time on a cold rink would enjoy freezing in nothing but his trousers, but hey –and as it turned out Lyon’s brother Gray was also on the hockey team, he wrote the sport down next to Lyon Vastia and Gray Fullbuster (why their last names were different he didn’t know) and also put ‘Wrestling’ down for Elfman Strauss.

By the end of the first five minutes, Rogue had also put down ‘Track team’ for Jet Sarusuke (the tall ginger); ‘Mixed Martial Arts’ for Gajeel Redfox (the pierced guy with the hair); and ‘Fencing’ for Erza Scarlet (the terrifying redhead, who was apparently also student president). This just left himself and one other person – Sting Eucliffe. Rogue had to scan the faces of the rest of the students before finding the only one he hadn’t put a name to. Sting was Lector’s brother – the blond with the dangly earring who had been leaning back on his chair when Rogue had first come into the classroom.

Unluckily for Rogue, Sting seemed to be discussing anything and everything except sports, and just messing around in general, so Rogue began doodling frogs down the side of his worksheet (Frosch asked him to draw them for her all the time at home, and it had become a bit of a habit) and daydreaming instead of paying attention to what everyone else around him was doing. Not that it mattered. No one had even noticed him yet. Not that he minded. Or at least, he thought no one had noticed him…

“Hey, cool frogs.” Sting Eucliffe dragged a chair over and flopped down on the other side of Rogue’s desk.

Rogue merely looked at him, wondering if there was a point to his intrusion.

“I’m Sting. Sting Eucliffe.”

“I know.” Rogue said. He took the opportunity to size Sting up. The guy was wearing beige skinny jeans, black workman’s boots, a fur-lined long sleeve blue jacket, and – that had to be a dress code violation – a ripped t-shirt that showed part of his stomach through the tears.

“Oh, do you now, Rogue?” Sting grinned sunnily.

“How do you know my name?” Rogue scowled.

“Easy. Rogue Cheney. Top of the list, and the only name I don’t have a sport for.” He said, waving his paper around airily. “How do you know mine?”

“Same.” Rogue turned his paper around to face Sting.

“You’ve been listening in on other people’s conversations, haven’t you?”

Rogue just shrugged.

“Naughty. I’d probably turn you in if I hadn’t been doing the same thing myself. Actually, no, that’s a lie; I probably wouldn’t have done it anyway. Bending the rules is much more fun when it comes to things like this” Sting’s grin grew wider.

“Technically, there was no rule against it.” Rogue replied emotionlessly.

“True. So seeing as how you’re the only person I don’t have a sport for, would you care to tell me which one’s your favourite?” Sting’s tone was playful and teasing, and only served to irritate Rogue, but he had gone to the trouble of asking.

“Bare-knuckle boxing.”

“Shit.” Sting’s eyes widened. “That’s a little hardcore. But, uh, you’re gonna have to give me another one, ‘cause old Gildarts won’t count it as a sport unless there’s a school team for it.” Sting’s grin was gone now, replaced by an expression that was half impressed, half shocked.

“Pass.”

“You gotta come up with something. You ever fought in an MMA fight?”

Rogue nodded.

“You win?” Sting asked, seemingly more interested now.

Rogue nodded again.

“Okay then. I’ll put you down for MMA. You should join the team, you know. Even if you don’t look like a fighter.” Sting smiled. Rogue could see what Sting meant. You could see the outline of Sting and Gajeel’s muscles through their tight fitting shirts, whereas his own loose t-shirt did a good job of cleverly hiding any muscles that would otherwise have been on show.

“Oh, and you can put me down for MMA, too,” Sting said, just as the bell went. Rogue moved instantly, grabbing his bag and making his way out of the class before anyone else could corner him for conversation, and finding his way over to Yukino outside the door.


	4. Chapter 3 - Class Introductions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! I didn't really think I'd be posting for a couple of weeks, but here I am. It's kind of a filler-y chapter though, which I didn't realise until after it was written, but I don't want to rush the story, I am planning on dragging it out for a good while (in the best way possible). There's distinctly less Sting in this chapter, but there is a lot more Yukino (yay!). I hope she's not too ooc, though, I tried really hard to make her polite and helpful, but there's only so far I can go without putting -sama on the end of everything. So I'm going to leave you to it, and I hope you all like it :)

Compared to Rogue’s homeroom, Math was an absolute walk in the park. There were (almost) no fights, no horrible icebreakers, and best of all, no grinning blonds coming over and attempting to make conversation. Although he had to admit that Sting had been just the tiniest bit interesting to talk to.

He’d managed to find a seat in the back corner yet again, this time with Yukino, (which he didn’t mind much, as she was pleasant enough and didn’t try to pry into things that didn’t concern her) and half listened as the teacher, Mr. Conbolt, ran through the syllabus for the first term. The rest of his time was spent studying the other students in his class, an exercise which was conveniently aided by the fact that Yukino had decided to give him the names of his different classmates.

Natsu, Gray, Erza, Gajeel and Juvia he all recognized from homeroom, as well as Sting, who was currently sat in the second row flicking small scraps of wadded up paper at the back of Natsu’s head. The small white haired girl sat next to Natsu was, Yukino informed him, Lisanna Strauss, the younger sister of Elfman the floor-hugger. Apparently she was one of the youngest in the year, being only nine moths younger than her brother and barely making it into the junior class, but she was smart despite it. She and Natsu were apparently best of friends.

“Okay, um, see the blue-haired guy next to Erza?” Yukino whispered.

Rogue nodded.

“That’s Jellal Fernandes. He and Erza have been friends since they were little, but they’ve grown apart over the past few years. They seem to be getting along quite well again now though. I think their row had something to do with Simon. Oh, and he has a twin, too. Mystogan. But he rarely ever shows his face unless it’s for class; he pretty much keeps to himself. They both have the same birthmark and everything, look.”

Rogue looked over just as Jellal turned to say something to Erza and saw what Yukino meant. He had a strange, almost tattoo-like mark around his right eye, the top of which was partially obscured by his bright blue fringe. In a weird way, the mark actually suited his facial structure.

“Okay, who else do you not know? Gray and Juvia you’ve met, um, she always sits next to him when she can, she’s had a crush on him for years; Gajeel’s in your class…What about Wendy?”

Yukino seemed to be quite good at reading Rogue already; she studied his visible eye for a few seconds before deciding that Rogue did not, in fact, know who Wendy was.

“She’s the cute kid next to Gajeel.”

‘Kid’ was an appropriate word for Wendy. Her long navy hair reached the seat of her chair and she had a kind innocent face. Add that to the fact her feet barely scraped the floor while she was sat down, and Wendy barely looked older than fourteen.

“I know she looks little, but you do not want to mess with her. She can hold her own pretty well in a fight when it comes down to it. Not that she likes to unless she has to. Gajeel’s her step-brother. He might deny it, but those two are thick as thieves.”

Rogue was just about to ask how someone as obviously young as Wendy could get into the junior class, but Yukino answered his question before he could voice it.

“She’s sixteen. I know she looks younger, but she’s really not. Gajeel’s really protective of her though because she’s so small and all. They have two younger siblings, too. Well, Lily’s adopted, but still. Anyways, Wendy kind of has this thing going on with one of the seniors, Mest. They both like each other but they just don’t realise it yet. Gajeel hates the guy for it. I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes.”

Rogue didn’t blame her. Gajeel was tough-looking, he was surprised the school even let him in with that many piercings. The guy even had a bunch of nasty looking scars down his right arm. Wendy, however, was smiling up at him like he was her best friend, and that idea made the tall, dark haired junior distinctly less unnerving.

“Who else is there…?” Yukino mused.

By now, Rogue had completely given up on anything Mr. Conbolt was saying. He was quite academic anyway, so he was sure he would survive without hearing the stereotypical first day speech.

“Oh, there’s Lucy and Levy.” Yukino pointed to a pretty, shapely blonde and a tiny elfin bluenette.

“Levy?” Rogue asked. He’d heard that name already.

“You know her?”

“Erza mentioned her. When Gajeel was fighting this skinny guy.”

“That would be Jet. Anyway, Lucy’s the blonde, and she’s good friends with Natsu, Gray and Erza; and Levy’s the little one with the hairband, she and Lucy are joined at the hip. They’re both real bookworms, not that you’d know it to look at Lucy.” Yukino paused. “I bet Jet was trying to fight for Levy’s honour again. Honestly, he and Droy go too far sometimes.”

“Droy?”

“Levy’s other friend. Levy and Gajeel were paired together for a group project last year, and they got along pretty well. Then Jet and Droy – they’re practically her fan club – got all possessive and decided they needed to fight Gajeel to warn him off. Thing is, Gajeel’s kind of hot tempered, so he took the two of them on with no trouble. Then Levy stepped in to try and stop them, and one of them hit her accidentally… In the end, it was Laxus who wound up breaking up the fight, and Levy was in hospital for two days with a concussion. Gajeel’s convinced it’s his fault, and the two of them haven’t spoken since, although Levy did try.”

Rogue didn’t say anything. He figured Gajeel must feel pretty guilty about what happened. He’d seen the size of Jet, and he was pretty sure that guy couldn’t land a punch hard enough to give anyone a concussion, even the tiny blue haired Levy. Unless Droy was a much more athletic person, the only one who realistically made that hit was Gajeel. Rogue felt sorry for him.

“I know what you’re thinking.” Yukino said sadly. “I would feel pretty bad about it too. Come on, class is over.”

Rogue had been so wrapped up in his thoughts he hadn’t even noticed the bell ring to signal the start of the next class.

“Come on,” Yukino urged. “We have English literature, and Mr. Rocko almost always knows if we’re late because we’ve been dawdling. I swear, that guy’s a mind reader.”

Rogue was just about to follow Yukino out of the door when Sting approached her with his trademark grin. Instead of going to join them, he gestured to Yukino that he’d meet her there and left before she could argue. He didn’t have anything against Sting, but one unexpected conversation was one too many. He just didn’t want to talk to the guy right now.

Being the first to class (Rogue was a fast walker, and pretty good at following directions) had its advantages. He got to sit in the back corner again (this was becoming a bit of a habit) and his slightly unapproachable demeanour meant that the only person who wanted to sit next to him was Yukino, who – judging by the look on her face – would much rather have been sat elsewhere.

“You don’t have to sit with me if you don’t want to, you know.” Rogue told her, gesturing to the blond boy she had been staring at ever since she sat down.

“It’s okay, it’s your first week. I don’t mind.” She replied.

The curiosity on Rogue’s face must have been obvious, because Yukino blushed and looked down at her hands before mumbling, “His name is Rufus.”

Rogue smirked. Yukino’s crush was so evident he was surprised she wasn’t the topic of discussion for half the junior class.

“Don’t look at me like that, please! I… we’re just friends.”

Rogue snorted quietly.

“We are! Really. He helps me out in class sometimes. He’s really very sweet.”

Rogue resisted the urge to comment on her bright red face and instead raised his eyebrows.

“Please stop it.” Yukino said, pouting like a small child.

Rogue merely nodded knowingly and turned his attention to the class. He knew almost everyone in this one. Lucy was sat with Levy again; Juvia with Gray; Wendy with Erza (there was no Natsu or Gajeel, Rogue noted); Lisanna and Elfman; Jellal and Jellal-with-a-scarf? (That must have been Mystogan, they really were identical).

Sting was also there, sat with a tall, elegant dark-haired girl; and Rufus was sat alone near the middle.

“That’s Mystogan with Jellal,” Yukino confirmed. “You already know who Rufus is, and the girl with Sting is Minerva Orland.”

Orland? Rogue knew that name. It couldn’t be though… Rogue shook his head and put it out of his mind. Even if it was the Orland he was thinking of, nothing would happen anyway.

“She lives on one of the country estates on the edge of town. Minerva’s a member of one of the wealthy trading families, along with Lucy and Hisui in the year above us. Gray and Natsu too, actually.”

Rogue nodded, and moved his attention back to the teacher. The name Orland had struck a nerve, and he was doing his best to ignore it so he could focus on the lesson. It didn’t really help that Mr. Rocko wasn’t really covering anything interesting, but Rogue tried to pay attention anyway. He managed pretty well considering, and when the bell rang at the end of the double period almost two hours later, he’d almost forgotten about it. Almost.


	5. Chapter 4 - Quiet Lunchtime?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! I've been super busy with Uni work -seriously, who thought it was a good idea to have an exam every two weeks? I also realize this chapter is the shortest one so far, and for that I am sorry, but the inspiration fairy just did not want to show it's face. Hopefully the next chapter will be longer. I may even upload it today, but no promises. Let's see how I get on. Anyway, usual rules apply, I hope you like it and please leave a comment even if its criticism (hopefully not, but if it is make it constructive, hating is not allowed here, we're all nice people) :)

It took all of six and a half minutes for Yukino to stop trying to convince Rogue to come and eat lunch at her table with her friends. Instead of following her to the canteen with the rest of their classmates, he headed outside to the fields behind the gym and picked the largest, most imposing tree possible, and proceeded to flop down underneath it, his elbows rested on his knees and his head resting against the tree trunk.

Being in a small school like Magnolia, where the classes rarely exceeded fifteen students and everyone seemed to know everybody else’s business like the back of their hand, was already taking its toll on Rogue.  While Yukino was nice enough to talk to, he really wished she didn’t keep asking him questions about his life before coming to the small town. Although he had to admit, she’d stopped trying to ask after the third or fourth blank stare he’d given her, probably out of sheer politeness. The girl seemed too nice for her own good.

Then there was Sting Eucliffe, who went out of his way to catch Rogue’s eye during English class to give him one of his trademark grins. Rogue was pretty sure Sting had pointed him out to Minerva, too, which didn’t exactly sit well with him, as Yukino had already made a point of telling Rogue about how Minerva used to be a complete bitch until she ran away from her dad’s house near to the end of last year. Apparently, Minerva was currently staying with Erza (a strange combination if Rogue had ever seen one) after the redhead had found her trying to catch the last bus into the city, and Minerva had totally changed her tune. Still, Rogue was wary of the tall black-haired girl.

At some point during the morning lessons, others in his class had begun to notice him too. He’d caught Natsu and Gajeel (not so subtly) glancing his way more than once, and the terrifying Erza had even offered him a small smile. Rogue sighed as his eyes swept across the field. Pretty soon he wouldn’t be able to keep to himself at all, no matter how much he wanted to. A small movement caught his eye, and he turned his head towards the source. One of the Fernandes twins –the one with the scarf, Mystogan – was leaning up against a large tree with plenty of overhanging branches. It had almost perfect cover from prying eyes. Rogue had to admire the length the guy seemed to be going to to keep away from the other students, his brother not included.

Almost as if he sensed Rogue watching him, Mystogan raised his head and gave a small nod in Rogue’s direction. Rogue nodded back, watching silently as Mystogan got up and made his way across the field back towards the school, just as a group of athletic-looking boys settled themselves down in the middle of the field with a speaker. Smart move. Rogue recognized a few of them –Natsu, Gajeel and Sting were amongst them, as was Laxus, which Rogue found strange. A couple of minutes later, they were joined by a small group of girls; Lucy, Erza and Wendy included, and Rogue recognized the distinctive opening bars of ‘Strike Back’, one of Laxus’ favourite songs. The speaker must have been his.

Rogue tilted his head back towards the sun and shut his eyes. He was pretty sure no one would notice him under his tree and he was nice and relaxed anyway, so he didn’t see the point in moving. He was just contemplating whether or not he should get lunch at some point (although he wasn’t really hungry) when a shadow fell over him, blocking out the sun.

Rogue sighed and opened his eyes, ready to tell them to go fuck off (he was already sick of being polite to people he didn’t want to talk to, and it was only his first day) when he recognized the person standing in front of him.

“What’s up, little bro?” Laxus grinned, dumping himself down unceremoniously beside Rogue.

“What do you want, Laxus?” Rogue asked harshly.

“Hey, no need to bite my head off. Just wondering what possible reason you could have for sitting out here underneath a sad old-looking tree by yourself, when I know for a fact you made a very sweet little friend this morning in your first class.” Laxus’ tone was mocking.

“Yukino is not my friend. How did you know I met her?”

“Let’s just say us Dragon Slayers like to talk. And that’s not very nice of you; Yukino’s a very sweet girl.”

“What the hell is a Dragon Slayer? And I couldn’t care less.” Rogue replied scathingly. He just wanted to be left alone in peace and quiet.

“School nickname for the top bunch of fighters on the MMA team. You beat one of us, you become a Slayer. Although no one’s actually done that in a while.” Laxus smirked arrogantly. “You should care though, Yukino’s one of the nicest people you’re ever gonna talk to.”

“Well, that’s a stupid nickname, and I don’t.”

Laxus sighed. “Look, I know you’ve done the whole ‘new school’ thing too many times to count, but you can’t keep isolating yourself. It’s the real deal this time Rogue. Gramps ain’t kicking you or your sister out any time soon. Hell, even I like you guys, and that’s saying something, cause I have to live with you, and let me tell you, your froggy little sister takes a heck of a long time in the bath of an evening. I swear she’s trying to make frogspawn out of bubble bath in there or something, but whatever she’s doing, she’s not quick about it.”

Rogue smiled.

“There it is.” Laxus smirked. “The only person you ever smile for is Frosch, so you do care about something. Just try a little harder, okay? Talk to people in class. Join a club or something. Sting said you know how to fight, why don’t you try taking on us Dragon Slayers?”

“Because if I win, I get that ridiculous nickname too.”

Laxus snorted. “You are such a downer.”

“So I’ve been told.”

“Come on bro. You don’t get a do-over this time. If you make everyone hate you, that it, you’re stuck at a school with a bunch of people that can’t stand the sight of you.”

Rogue had the distinct feeling Laxus was speaking from experience, but decided not to comment on it. “Good. Maybe then I’ll get some peace.”

“You’re impossible.”

“You’re irritating.”

“You looking for a fight or something?”

“I’m looking for solitude. Go join your friends.”

“Rogue, come on, at least try to pretend you’re nice.”

Rogue smirked. “Asking me to lie now, are we?”

“I give up. I should probably go find Mira anyway; I don’t suppose you want to help?” Laxus stood.

“I have no idea who Mira is. So no. I’ll pass. I told Yukino I’d meet her outside Chem.”

Rogue got up and took off in the direction of the science building, leaving Laxus stood underneath the tree, smiling. Maybe Rogue had made a friend, even if he didn’t want to admit it.


	6. Chapter 5 - Sting, Sisters and Icecream Stains

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually kept my word! I give you the gift of another chapter, if you wish to accept it. So... I realise it doesn't seem like the storyline is going anywhere but I have plans, trust me. I don't want to rush character introductions or relationships and friendships so you will have to bear with me. I'm just getting started on all of this. Usual rules apply, comment if you can, criticise if you feel its necessary, but no hating allowed. Hope you like :)

Rogue’s afternoon passed quickly after his less-than-peaceful lunch break, and soon enough he found himself making the picturesque walk from Magnolia High to Fiore Elementary with nothing but his own thoughts to keep him company. Just the way he liked it.

The afternoon classes had been interesting to say the least. Chemistry had almost passed by without incident until Natsu had somehow miraculously managed to set fire to his lab partner, who just happened to be Lucy. Rogue was honestly impressed by the strength of the kick that she had landed to his jaw after her shirt had finally been doused. That kick had power – enough power to send Natsu to the nurse’s office anyway.

Biology had been much stranger. Their teacher, Porlyusica had an immediate and immense dislike for everyone in the room except Wendy. She actually smiled at the small teenager at one point. The rest of the lesson was spent listening to her yelling about how humans were irritating and threatening to add to Natsu’s injuries next time he showed up unannounced at her office. (Apparently she was also the school nurse. Lucy looked extremely smug at the thought of that threat).

Rogue couldn’t have been more relieved when the final bell rang. Magnolia High students were insane. Officially and certifiably mental. He wanted nothing more than to go home, flop down on his bed and pretend his day had never happened. Unfortunately, he had promised Frosch ice cream. There was no way he would back out of a promise when it involved his little sister, even if it meant trying to get pink ice cream stains out of her clothes at the end of the day.

He turned the corner and made his way down the gravel path and into the red brick building that had Fro’s classroom. There were already several parents and older siblings waiting in the hall for their children and siblings, so Rogue positioned himself in the shadows at the back of the crowd to observe. He recognized several familiar faces from school; Wendy and Gajeel, Lisanna and another white haired girl who must have been her sister, and Natsu and Sting with two older, red-haired men. The one closest to Natsu was littered with scars, and the other’s hair was so bright it was almost as if it were on fire.

“How many times have I told you not to fight outside the ring, Natsu?” The scarred man asked, frowning at him.

“I wasn’t fighting! It was an accident, Lucy kicked me!” Natsu practically yelled.

“She kicked you again? What did you do this time?” The man laughed.

“It was an accident!”

“Natsu?”

“I… set fire to her shirt…” Natsu mumbled.

“You did what!?” The scarred man was in hysterics by this point, doubled over and clutching his stomach.

“It’s not funny, Igneel!”

Rogue smiled slightly. From the way the two were acting, Igneel must have been Natsu’s father. Igneel Dragneel. His parents must have hated him.

Rogue was distracted from their conversation by the flood of children pouring out the classroom, followed by a green haired woman in a cowboy hat and a black dress. One by one, the respective kids were paired up with their families – Wendy with a white haired girl and a dark-skinned boy (who must have been the Lily that Yukino mentioned earlier); Natsu and a blue haired boy who started complaining he was hungry and wanted fish, and Lisanna and her sister with a dark-haired girl who they took from the teacher with a promise to “look after her and we’ll see you and Alzack around eight, Bisca”.

Right at the back of the group, dragging their heels and looking every bit like they were plotting world domination, were Frosch and Lector, her little red-headed friend. One of Fro’s pigtails looked like it had been re-tied by a seven-year-old (it probably had been) and she had a small hole in the left knee of her green tights. Rogue sighed. That girl was a walking hurricane sometimes.

By this point, the only people left were Sting; the second red-haired man; and Rogue himself. The other two hadn’t noticed yet, they were too busy watching the two children grinning and chatting just outside the doorway. Eventually, they approached the two, and the children rewarded them with equally bright grins.

“Hey, Lector,” Sting said. “Who’s your new friend?”

Lector grinned and high fived Sting when he was close enough. “This is Frosch! She’s really cool and she knows all about frogs and she’s a really fast runner, too! She even beat Lily!”

Sting grinned. “Frosch, huh? Well, you must be really, seriously fast, Frosch, because Lector never says anything that isn’t true.”

“Fro thinks so too!”

“Awesome! You’ll have to race me sometime! I bet you can win!” Sting crouched down in front of the two kids and Lector grinned back.

“I don’t know about that, you’re really awesome Sting!”

Rogue smiled. Frosch seemed to really like Lector and Sting. He had no idea what she was so worried about this morning.

“Where are your parents, then, little Frosch?” The red haired man asked, crouching down next to Sting.

Frosch went quiet and started chewing on her sleeve.

“Your dad coming to pick you up?” he asked.

“Fro… Fro doesn’t have a daddy.” She replied.

“Your mom then?” he frowned.

“Fro’s mom died when Fro was three. Fro doesn’t really remember her.”

“Then, who’s coming to pick you up?” Sting asked.

“Fro’s brother!” she said, smiling. “Fro has the bestest, nicest older brother in the world!”

Sting and the red-headed man smiled at each other. “Well, then, you want us to wait with you until he gets here?” Sting asked.

Frosch nodded, looking sad that Rogue wasn’t there yet and he remembered that he’d hidden himself. Rogue took a step forward and gave Frosch a small wave and she smiled and padded her way over to him just as the others turned their attention to Lector.

“Fro thought Rogue wasn’t coming.” She said quietly.

“Of course I was gonna come to pick you up. Can’t leave my favourite little frog all by herself now, can I? How did you get so messy?” He asked, squatting down and pulling her pigtail loose.

“Fro won a race!”

“I heard,” Rogue smiled, re-gathering her hair.

Rogue had just gotten Fro’s hair into a manageable state when Sting called out. “Wait, where did she go?”

“Relax, Sting!” Lector said. “She’s over there.” He pointed at where Rogue was squatted, just about to wrap a hairtie round Fro’s repositioned pigtail.

“Oh. Wait, Rogue?” Sting asked dubiously.

Rogue sighed and finished securing Fro’s pigtail, wrapping a ribbon around it.

“Frosch is your sister?” Sting asked.

Rogue nodded.

“You must be the kids Makarov took in?” The redheaded man said as Rogue finished tying off Fro’s hair ribbon in a small bow.

Rogue nodded again, standing up.

“Atlas Dragneel.” The man said, holding his hand out to shake.

“Rogue Cheney.”

“Pleasure. Sting told me you were in a couple of his classes. Said you don’t talk much though, apart from Yukino anyways. Good choice of friend, by the way.”

“Thanks.”

“Nicer than Sorano anyway.” Sting muttered.

“Cut Sorano some slack, Sting,” Atlas said. “She had a rough time.”

“Ten freaking years ago.” Sting scowled.

“Sting…”

“Well, sorry!” Sting said sarcastically.

Atlas seemed to remember Rogue was there at that point. “Anyway, I hope you like it here. We’ve lived in Magnolia for as long as I can remember. Well I have, anyway. Sting moved here a few years back to live with me.”

“Yeah, he’s my uncle. Unfortunately.” Sting smirked.

“I can kick your ass any day of the week, kid!”

“Bring it on old man!”

Rogue sighed.

“Just kidding.” Atlas grinned. “I don’t stand a chance. Anyway, we should get going. It was nice to meet you, Rogue and Frosch.”

“Likewise.”

“Fro thinks so too!”

Atlas, Sting and Lector took off in the opposite direction to Rogue and Frosch, and as promised, Rogue piggy backed his sister over to the only ice cream parlour in town, which belonged to a married couple called Ur and Silver. Rogue ordered himself a vanilla cone and watched in dread as Frosch ordered the brightest rainbow coloured ice cream he’d ever seen and proceeded to smother it in pink and green sauce and sprinkles.

They spent the better part of an hour sat at a window table as Frosch told Rogue about her classes and the friends she’d made and the games she’d played and how cool her teacher was and how they should go swimming sometime and made suggestions about what to do when they got home. By the time she paused for breath, half her ice cream had melted and she had to eat it twice as quickly so it wouldn’t be a pile of goo.

Rogue merely sat and listened to her with a smile. No matter what plans they made for when they got home, Frosch would spend another hour recounting her entire day to Laxus and Makarov as he tried to convince her to change into her onesie so that he could try and wash her hoodie to get the brand-new rainbow ice cream stain out of the right sleeve.

It was worth it to see her cute little smile.


	7. Chapter 6 - Conversations and Altercations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really really really sorry and don't hate me that I haven't updated in ages but I've been going through some stuff I'd rather not talk about and I'm really sorry. But I'm back again and I promise no matter how much I disappear that I fully intend to finish this fic. Pinky swear. So have some Stingue as a present because I love you all, and as always, usualy rules apply, comments wanted, criticism welcome, hating banned.  
> Frosch x

After three weeks, Rogue had managed to both get the stain out of Frosch’s hoodie and settle into some sort of haphazard routine. Yukino had now moved to sit with Rufus during English Literature after some gentle hinting on Rogue’s part, and although she still sat with him during Math, History and Art, he still refused to join her friends for lunch. He was no longer enough of a curiosity to warrant stares from other students, and no one but Yukino had tried to make conversation with him since Sting had spoken to him in homeroom on the first day. Laxus continued to (sarcastically) comment on Rogue’s lack of friends, as though doing so would convince him to talk to more people, although Rogue suspected it had something to do with what Yukino told him about Laxus getting suspended during his sophomore year. He was probably just trying to stop Rogue making the same mistake.

Monday morning came around again and started out the same way every other morning of every other week did. Rogue got (woken) up far too early; went downstairs for breakfast with Laxus and Makarov; told Frosch that onesies and pyjamas were under no circumstances suitable clothing for school; showered and dressed; hitched a lift to Fiore Elementary with Laxus so he could drop off Fro; then walked the rest of the way to Magnolia High in silence. Or at least he would have done, had he not run into Sting on the way out of Frosch’s school. Rogue made the conscious decision to keep walking and hope Sting hadn’t noticed him, but luck was not on his side and Sting was an extremely observant person.

“Hey Rogue, wait up!”

Rogue sighed, stopped long enough for Sting to catch up and then started walking again without a word.

“Look, I know you don’t like people or whatever, that’s why I didn’t try to talk to you again after the first day, but Lector asked me if Fro could come play over at our house after school tonight.”

Rogue stopped walking. Now that he thought about it, Sting hadn’t said a word since Monday, and he wasn’t exactly the quietest of people.

“What makes you say I don’t like people?” Rogue asked, genuinely curious. He didn’t not like people did he?

“Dude, you don’t talk to them. Ever.” Sting laughed, stopping with him. “And I know it can’t be social anxiety because you get on with Yuki just fine, so it stands to reason that you just choose not to socialise with us. Which is cool. I can respect that, even if I don’t get it… but whatever. That’s not the point. You still haven’t given me an answer.”

“You didn’t ask a question.” Rogue deadpanned. He didn’t appreciate being told he was antisocial. He knew he was antisocial; he just didn’t want people pointing it out to him.

“Wow, you’re sarcastic.” Sting scoffed.

“And you talk too much without making your point.”

“True. But at least I talk in the first place.” Sting grinned.

Rogue gave a small smile and started walking. There was a tiny part of him that liked Sting’s constant excited chatter. It reminded him that there was always someone who was happy, like a little light in the darkness. Then he realised how pathetically sappy that thought sounded and shook his head slightly in amusement.

“Wow!” Sting exclaimed. “You have facial expressions!”

Rogue looked over to see Sting grinning his trademark grin at him and gave the blond the unimpressed look he usually saved for when Fro woke him up before 6 a.m. or coloured in his arms with felt.

“Multiple facial expressions! I feel like I should get my camera! This is a crucial event in the history of Magnolia!”

“Amusing.” Rogue deadpanned.

“Aw, thanks. It warms my heart to know that my words make you smile.” Sting said in a sickeningly sweet voice.

“And _I’m_ sarcastic.” Rogue mumbled.

“I never claimed not to be.” Sting grinned.

 _Seriously, how does his face not hurt from all the smiling?_ Rogue thought.

“And a hypocrite.” Rogue replied.

“I never claimed not to be.”

“And repetitive.”

“I never claimed not to be.”

“And annoying.”

“Ouch. The pain of being struck!” Sting cried dramatically clutching at his heart over his ripped t-shirt, the dramatic effect lessened somewhat by the fact that he was still smiling.

Rogue smirked at him in amusement and Sting smirked back mischievously, and the two continued their walk in silence for a few minutes. It wasn’t the awkward kind of silence where no one could think of anything to say, but more of a comfortable silence because the two knew they didn’t need to force conversation, and Rogue was content with silence more often than not anyway. They had almost reached the school before Rogue spoke up.

“Yes.”

“Yes what?” Sting asked, slightly startled by the fact that Rogue had spoken unprompted.

“It’s fine for Frosch to go over to your place later. So long as I know where she is I don’t mind her going anywhere.” Rogue replied.

“Anywhere?” Sting grinned.

“Sting, I swear if you take my sister to a… a crack house or a strip club, or… just no. So help me they will find your body in an alleyway by the river.”

Sting laughed. “Relax. I might take them to the park if they get bored, that’s about it.”

“Oh… maybe not the park. Frosch has a thing for wandering off without you knowing and she’s obsessed with frogs.” Rogue grimaced.

“Ah. The pond.”

“I had to fish her out last time. Fully clothed. She’s a really good swimmer, but still there’s algae and… stuff. We found frogspawn in a teacup. Well, Laxus did. As in he almost drank it.”

Sting snorted and burst out laughing. “Frogspawn?! Oh, that’s totally gonna be his new nickname in the ring… speaking of which, I thought you were gonna join the team? MMA?”

“I don’t know. I just… don’t know anyone other than Laxus.” Rogue replied. By this point they had reached the school and were making their way over to the gym.

“Oh yeah. People.” Sting’s smile faded for the first time since Rogue had known him.

“I don’t not like people.” Rogue said softly, stopping by the door to homeroom. “I spent so long with it just being me and Fro and people just kept chucking us back at the home like… forget I said anything.”

Sting gave him a look that was closer to understanding than sympathy and said nothing, leaving Rogue to push open the door to the classroom and walk in. Everyone in the room glanced up briefly when Rogue walked in and returned to their conversations like they did every other day. He didn’t really mind, he’d gotten peace and solitude just like he wanted, but for some reason, part of him felt like maybe he should have made more of an effort to talk to people. Laxus was right – this was going to be the next two years of his life, just sitting at an empty desk at the back of a classroom.

Then Sting followed him in and dumped his bag down on the desk next to Rogue and grinned and everyone in the class stared. Rogue felt like laughing at the expressions on their faces, except he didn’t, because he never laughed for anyone other than Frosch and he wasn’t about to start now, no matter how funny it was. Instead he gave Sting a small smirk and let the blond do the laughing for him, just like Rogue somehow instinctively knew he would, and sat back and watched Gildarts spend the next ten minutes trying to gain everyone’s attention.

The rest of the day passed in relative calm, apart from Sting occasionally leaning over in homeroom and English (now that Yukino was sat with Rufus, Sting decided he and Minerva could take the desk next to Rogue’s; Minerva said nothing about it) to give Rogue’s notebook frogs glasses or bowties or top hats. Or a mixture of the three, depending on how much he liked the frog. It wasn’t until they were outside after school had finished for the day that Sting spoke again, pulling Rogue out of his thoughts.

“You sure you’re okay with me kidnapping Frosch for the evening?”

“Yeah. Although technically Lector is the mastermind behind it all.” Rogue replied casually.

“Are you saying I’m not smart enough to kidnap your sister?” Sting replied indignantly.

“Whatever you want to think.” Rogue said coolly, heading off in the direction of Fiore Elementary, and tilting his head towards Sting in an unspoken invitation to follow, which he did.

“I’m going to take that as an insult. I’m insulted.”

“Nice to meet you, Insulted.”

“Oh, the sass! You know, Cheney, I’m starting to think- ” Sting’s laughter was suddenly cut off by a small cry of pain from around the corner and the two teens stopped walking.

“Please leave me alone! Please!” A girl’s voice drifted over, pleading and crying, and Sting and Rogue both froze, because they had heard that voice before, and they would recognize it anywhere, since that voice belonged to one of the kindest, sweetest people that either of them had ever met.

Yukino.


	8. Chapter 7 - Fairy Tail and Tartaros

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I figured, as a way of apology for my long absence, and my cliffhanger, I would give you a brand new longer than normal chapter a day after the previous one! Yay! So you don't actually have to wait too long to find out what happened to Yukino - just to the end of this author's note actually, unless you choose to skip it. We also get to find a couple of things out about Rogue that have been hinted at slightly in previous chapters, and... Fairy Tail! Woo! Anyway, I'll leave you to it because I've probably made you incredibly impatient, and usual rules apply. Comments wanted, criticism welcome, hating banned. Enjoy (hopefully)!  
> Frosch x

Rogue was the first to unfreeze, sprinting back down the block towards the sound of Yukino’s cry, Sting barely a second behind him. They rounded the corner into an alleyway less than a minute, skidding to a halt, Sting pulling his phone out of his pocket as they stopped, punching in a quick message while Rogue took in the scene before him. Yukino was pinned up against a wall by an odd-looking man with matching yellow hair and eyes. His fringe covered his left eye whilst his right was surrounded by a dash of strange black marks that looked like freckles, but bigger. He looked up at Rogue and grinned wolfishly, tightening his grip on Yukino’s throat, the small girl struggling for breath.

“Ooh. Playmates.” He cackled, showing off small, pointy teeth.”

“Let her go.” Rogue growled.

“Do I hear a please?”

“We weren’t asking, jackass.” Sting stepped up beside Rogue, weight on the balls of his feet, tense like he was preparing for a fight.

“I don’t follow orders well.” The man’s eyes narrowed menacingly.

“I won’t tell you a second time.” Rogue’s voice was calm and even, his face impassive. The only thing that betrayed him was his eye, his glare intensifying as though looks could kill.

“I still don’t hear please…” The man was taunting them now, running his fingers through Yukino’s hair with his free hand, exposing a black eye and a split lip.

Rogue lost it, moving to spring forward and get this guy the hell away from his friend when a second figure appeared behind them, arms crossed as though he were bored with whatever game they were playing.

“Stop messing around.” The second figure ordered harshly, staring at Yukino’s captor.

“Ezel.” The yellow haired man hissed. “I can do this alone.”

“Evidently not.” Ezel, the second man, was huge, bigger than Elfman Strauss. His arms bulged with muscles that Rogue didn’t even know existed, and his skin was tinged slightly blue, his face uncaring and intimidating. Rogue’s first thought was that this was a guy you did not want to mess with. Sting’s apparently, was not.

“Holy shit, you’re blue! Did you put food colouring in your bath, or were your parents Smurfs?! That is NOT normal!” The blond’s jaw dropped.

“Sting! Now is not the time!” Rogue chided.

“But he’s blue! Actually freaking blue! Who the hell is blue?! Do you know any blue people?! Cause I don’t! Who the hell is blue?! Who?! Other than this guy?!”

“Enough!” Ezel shouted.

_Well, if they were looking to be subtle, they’ve done a hell of a job between pointy teeth, blue giant and yelling orders around the place,_ Rogue thought.

Yellow-hair drew his left hand back to strike Yukino, and she whimpered. Sting cursed and made to stop him, but Ezel stepped in front of them and uncrossed his arms. Rogue tried to force his way past him and Ezel struck out lazily and slammed Rogue into the wall. Rogue felt a small crack and winced, but got back up anyway, clutching his side. Luckily he’d remembered to breathe out when he’d been hit. He was no use to anyone winded.

“Shit.” Sting hissed. He sprang forward and managed to get in a good few punches before Ezel hit him. Rogue darted behind Sting and pushed him forward before he could hit anything potentially injuring. Sting shot him a grateful look, and Ezel just remained where he was stood, expression blank as the yellow haired man slammed Yukino’s head into the wall, then stopped, stared past Sting and Rogue into the mouth of the alleyway, and went white. Sting breathed a sigh of relief.

“You.” Yellow-hair whispered at the newcomer.

“Me.” The voice that replied was falsely, sickeningly sweet.

“Not possible.” Yellow-hair looked terrified.

“Jackal, sweetie, what’s wrong? You don’t look pleased to see me.”

“I… you can’t be here.” Jackal’s grip on Yukino loosened.

“But I am. And I’m going to have to ask you to unhand dear, sweet, Yukino. And you know that when I want something, I only ever ask for it _once_.” Minerva Orland stepped into the alleyway with a smile that was equal parts threatening and saccharine, and her eyes narrowed. “Now let her go or I’ll personally see to it that you regret ever setting foot in Magnolia.”

Rogue shivered. Minerva was an Erza level of terrifying in a much darker way that Rogue didn’t think Erza could ever manage. There was something dangerous about the look in her eyes.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.” Jackal really _did_ look afraid. “However, if you agree to come home with us, I’m sure we can arrange something that would benefit all of us.”

“Have you learned nothing?” Minerva’s voice was ice cold. “I don’t _compromise_. I ask and I _get_. If you really are unwilling to leave Yukino alone, I can see I’m going to have to make you.”

“You and your twin dorks over there?” Jackal smirked, but it was hollow and just for show.

Minerva sighed. “I do hate to get my hands dirty.”

Sting smiled. “You want the little one or the big one?”

“Rufus and Orga can take care of Ezel.” Minerva gestured behind her and Rogue caught sight of the well-dressed blond English student and a large teen with pale green hair and black tribal markings on his face. Orga.

Minerva strode toward Ezel confidently, dodged the hand that came towards her with astonishing speed, and slipped past him, while Rufus and Orga made directly for the giant. Rogue saw Jackal drop Yukino to the floor, the white haired teen coughing and spluttering, and turn to face Minerva. The taller girl settled into a shallow crouch and sprang. Rogue took a sharp breath and winced.

“Hey, you okay?” Sting looked alarmed.

“I’m fine. You should get Yukino, I’ll help these guys.”

Sting looked unconvinced, but nodded, and managed to dodge the blue brick wall that was Ezel much more easily now he was occupied. Rufus and Orga were on the defensive, and they wouldn’t be able to keep it up forever, but between Rufus’ unassuming grace and Orga’s brute strength, they were managing to hold him off. Just.

Minerva blocked a strike from Jackal, swept his legs out from underneath him and landed a strike to his windpipe and he dropped to the floor, choking and gasping for air, just as Sting helped Yukino up off the floor. She had a few bruises on her face and neck, and a split lip, but she looked otherwise unharmed. Nothing was broken, at least. Which was more than Rogue thought he could say.

Rufus went low and Orga went high, and Ezel managed to step back, but all his weight was now on his front foot and Rogue delivered a sloppy, yet brutal kick to his knee, and Ezel stumbled, Orga’s next uppercut connecting. Jackal was struggling to his feet now and Ezel was the one on the defensive.

“Jackal.” Ezel said evenly. “It’s time to leave.”

“They’re just a bunch of -”

“Now.” Ezel said. He turned and walked away, past Minerva, Sting and Yukino, grabbing Jackal and dragging him along.

“Coward!” called Rufus. He seemed to remember Yukino had been attacked then, because he rushed over to her, wrapping an arm around her side and taking her away from Sting, who merely smirked at how obvious Rufus was being and let him take her. Minerva, however, was inconsolably angry, pacing up and down furiously. Orga leaned against the wall silently, and Rogue sank to the floor. His side was killing him and it burned to breathe, so he did so shallowly, leaving Sting to calm Minerva.

After what seemed like an age, Sting was leading Minerva out of the alleyway, the statuesque teen still seething, Rufus and Yukino following. Rogue made to pull himself up off the floor and hissed, then a hand reached out to him and he took it, Orga pulling him up silently with a raised eyebrow. Rogue merely shook his head and followed the others down the street, not even questioning where they were headed until he remembered where he was supposed to be.

“Shit!”

Everyone stopped and turned to look at him.

“Frosch… I was supposed to pick her up.” Rogue explained.

“Lector!” Sting exclaimed. “Ah man, I’m so dead if he leaves by himself!”

Minerva finally smiled. “Idiots. We’ll be fine, go pick them up. We’ll meet you at the bar, Sting. You too, Rogue,” she added.

Rogue felt confused, but said nothing and just nodded, following Sting over to Fro’s school. They were twenty minutes late to pick their siblings up, and Miss Connell had just been about to call Makarov and Atlas. Another half a minute and the two teens would have been in a world of trouble, like they hadn’t already gone through enough that day. Frosch was so relieved she jumped on Rogue, and nudged his injured side, causing him to cry out in pain.

“Rogue? Fro didn’t mean to hurt you! Fro is sorry…” The little girl looked upset.

Rogue grit his teeth. “No, it’s fine, you didn’t. I’m just not going to be able to carry you today, that’s all, okay?”

“Okay…” Frosch took Rogue’s hand instead and Sting gave him an extremely worried look. Rogue gave him a small, if pained, smile by way of reassurance and Sting just looked away. Considering how he’d only spoken to the guy twice, Sting seemed pretty worried. Lector, for his part, seemed unfazed by Sting and Rogue’s lateness and spent the entire walk chattering away until they reached their destination. Fairy Tail.

Rogue recognized the local bar/coffee shop/youth club instantly. It was Makarov who owned it, so he’d dropped by a couple of times so Laxus could talk to his Gramps, but he’d never actually been inside. The residents of Magnolia referred to it as the Guildhall, seeing as how it had so many different functions, yet no definable title at the same time. It was simply “Fairy Tail”. Rogue hesitated before going in – almost all of the kids in school hung out there, and he wasn’t exactly looking forward to the stares. Add that to the now extremely noticeable twinge in his side and the fact that it still hurt to breathe, and he was very reluctant to enter. Makarov would notice something was wrong straight away, and if he didn’t, Laxus definitely would.

Sting, however, had a different idea (Rogue was already beginning to see how the guy’s mind worked after barely a day of – friendship?) and grabbed Rogue’s free wrist, dragging him through the doors and then crouching down in front of Lector.

“Here.” He said, giving the redhead ten jewel. Go get yourself a milkshake. Get one for Fro too, ‘kay?”

Rogue was about to protest that Sting didn’t have to buy his sister anything, but Sting merely rolled his eyes the second Rogue opened his mouth and dragged him off to a table along the back wall, where Minerva, Rufus, Orga and Yukino were already seated, six drinks around the table. To Rogue’s surprise, there was another girl there, with long white hair and her fringe pulled up into a ponytail. She was beautiful, in a kind, generous open way, the same way Yukino was, except with none of the shyness. She was currently dabbing some kind of liquid on Yukino’s mouth.

“Ouch!” Yukino hissed.

“Stop pulling away, you’re just making it more difficult for yourself.” Even the girl’s voice was kind and warm, and her frown was chiding not angry.

“Hey, guys, Mira!” Sting greeted them.

_Mira?_ Rogue had heard that name before, from Laxus and Makarov. She was a senior who worked part time behind the bar, and she was something important to do with the school. Rogue couldn’t remember what though.

“Hey, Sting,” she smiled, looking at both of them. “You must be Rogue.”

Rogue nodded.

“Mirajane Strauss. I’m a senior at the school.”

“Nice to meet you.” Rogue replied.

“Likewise.” She beamed. “Well, I’m headed back to the bar, unless you guys need anything else?”

“Actually, yeah,” Sting cut in quickly. “You see Lector over at the bar?”

“Yeah. Next to the cute tiny girl with green pigtails?” Mira asked.

Rogue smiled a little at her description of Fro. He hated it when people thought his sister looked odd because of her hair and clothes.

“Yeah, the ditzy one is Frosch, Rogue’s sister.”

“Hey!” Rogue exclaimed. “She is not ditzy!”

“She jumped in the pond fully clothed, what other possible word is there to describe her?” Sting shot back.

“She’s cute! She’s froggy! She’s small!” Rogue listed them off one by one on his fingers.

“She’s ditzy!”

“So will you be if you don’t shut up!” Rogue’s breath hitched, but Sting didn’t notice.

“Is that a threat, Cheney? Wanna see if you can follow it though?” Sting grinned.

Mira’s laugh interrupted them, a light happy giggle. “And here I was told that Rogue barely ever spoke. What about Lector and Frosch?”

Sting’s expression grew slightly more serious. “You mind keeping them occupied for a little bit while we talk?”

Mira’s eyes narrowed. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with what happened to Yukino’s face would it? Because if it does…”

“I told you, I tripped.” Yukino told her, eyes downcast. It seemed that they’d already agreed not to say anything about what happened.

“You tripped and just happened to strangle yourself on a stray hand that was lying in the street?” Mira scoffed, looking pointedly at the finger-marks on the smaller girls neck. Sting snorted. Minerva punched him in the arm.

“Mira, it’s fine, we’ll sort it.” Minerva said kindly. Her attitude was completely different to what it had been earlier.

Mira sighed. “Okay. I’ll go watch the kids. But you know where we are if you need anything.” With that she left for the bar to keep Lector and Frosch company.

“We?” Rogue asked.

Minerva smiled. “Almost every junior or senior in the school is a member of Fairy Tail.”

“There’s a membership?”

“Oh, she doesn’t mean the guildhall. Makarov sponsors all the competitive fighting teams in the school, so they’re collectively called Fairy Tail in his honour. Almost all of the juniors and seniors are on a team. Team members are called Fairies. Orga is wrestling, Minerva’s on the MMA team with me, and Yukino and Rufus are kickboxing.” Sting explained.

“Almost everyone? Even Lucy, Wendy and Levy?” Rogue asked, dumbstruck. Part of him thought the pain in his side was making him delirious.

“Yep. Lucy and Levy both do kickboxing. Wendy’s a Dragonslayer.”

_Wendy Marvell was one of the best MMA fighters in the school? Kid was tiny! Why was everyone so focused on fighting at Magnolia?_ Rogue thought it best not to ask. Sting answered anyway.

“Bunch of kids from one of the boarding schools, Phantom Lord, started coming around here and beating people up. Everyone learned how to take care of themselves. Now Magnolia’s one of the top raked schools for combat sports in the country. Ol’ Gildarts is a master.” Sting grinned.

“But that’s not the point. The point is, we shouldn’t need to defend ourselves anymore. So why was Yukino attacked in an alleyway?” Rufus demanded. He was a lot angrier about Yukino than he looked, and he’d barely moved from her side the entire time they’d been there.

“I’m afraid that’s my fault.” Minerva confessed, looking down at her lap.

“What? No, no Mini, it’s not.” Yukino insisted softly. “You couldn’t have known.”

“You’re a sweet friend, Yukino, but we both know that it’s true. You may have forgiven me for the way that I treated people before I left home, but a lot of people haven’t. And my father hasn’t forgiven me for leaving.”

“That doesn’t make it your fault.” Yukino murmured. “It doesn’t matter what you did before, you’re our friend now.”

“The fact is, Jackal and Ezel both work for Tartaros. My father’s company. And it doesn’t always deal with legal business transactions. He likes to make his employees fight for money. It’s a rich person’s game. That’s who whose two guys were. He makes them fight against people who need the money and have no choice. So he used them to get to me through Yukino. I’m so sorry, Yuki. He told me before I left that there was nowhere I could go where he wouldn’t find me. Because I’m weak.” Minerva whispered the last part, her head hung in shame.

Yukino put her arm around Minerva, and Rufus told her to stop being so silly. Sting was too busy making angry threats that involved multiple expletives that shouldn’t be used in public, and Orga just said nothing.

But Rogue wasn’t paying attention to any of them. The pain in his ribs kept stabbing at him like a knife and he didn’t pay attention to that either, because he knew about Tartaros and their little illegal fight club. He’s been one of the people too desperate to say no to the money. Just before he’d left to live with Makarov, Minerva’s father had said the same thing to him. There was nowhere he could go where he couldn’t be found. Images of Yukino pinned up against a wall flashed through his mind, and Rogue clenched his fists.

He didn’t care how long it took him to do it. But Rogue was going to make Jiemma Orland pay.


	9. Chapter 8 - Pain and Memories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promised I'd get another chapter up this week, so here it is! It's not as depressing as the title sounds, I promise you, and it's not as plotty as the last chapter either. Told you guys I would drag it out. The piece of music I've put in the chapter is also known as Piano Concerto No. 5 as well as the Emperor Concerto, and I chose it because it's kind of beautiful in a haunting way and I personally really like it, it's quite relaxing.   
> I would also like to say because I forgot to do it last chapter, (Fairy Tail and Tartaros) I know Minerva does it, but if you are in a fight, do not strike anyone in the windpipe unless you are genuinely being attacked and fear for your safety/life! It's very difficult if not impossible to build up muscle around the throat area and so it's very vulnerable to attacks and you can genuinely break someone's windpipe and kill them if you are not careful. So please please please don't do it (safety first guys and I would hate to have put the idea in anyone's head).  
> On a lighter note, I quite like this chapter, and I realise now that I am one of those writers who likes to put characters through pain and see the readers squirm (I am talking to you, Juul, after your reaction to Yukino's attack) so keep commenting guys I always like to hear your feedback.  
> Usual rules apply, criticism welcome, hating not allowed, and I hope you enjoy!  
> Frosch x

Things more or less went back to normal straight away after the attack. Minerva forcibly insisted that Yukino stay with her for a while – both so she could keep an eye on the smaller girl and make sure she wasn’t alone (Yukino’s sister was hardly ever there, apparently). The taller girl clearly still felt incredibly guilty about what had happened, which was understandable. Part of Rogue felt guilty too, although he said nothing about it. He wasn’t ready for everyone to know about his past, he was barely even ready to have friends, for God’s sake.

The one notable difference between before and after the alleyway fight was Sting. Rogue had gone home that night and pretended like nothing had happened. Yukino refused to go to the police – after all, they had no proof, so it wouldn’t  do – so they all just carried on their daily routines.

Rogue woke up the next morning without any aid from Frosch, quickly wondering why the little girl hadn’t gotten out of bed yet. Usually she was like clockwork, coming in almost exactly five minutes before Rogue was fully awake himself, but then he realised that Frosch wasn’t late, he was early. Very early. The luminous display on his digital alarm read 3:30 a.m. and he was never awake at this time. He sighed, rolled over, and gasped in pain. Gingerly, Rogue sat himself up, his breath rattling, left hand side of his body throbbing with pain every time he inhaled. Shit. That wasn’t good. He dragged himself over to the bathroom, grabbing an old shirt on the way in case he ran into anyone in the hallway. He yanked heavily on the light cord, stumbling over to the mirror.

The lower left side of his ribcage was a mess of mottled red and purple bruising that spread across his side. Rogue gently pressed the tips of his fingers to the bruise and hissed at the pain that jolted through him. The damage hadn’t looked nearly that bad before he went to bed. He was hoping he’d gotten away with just bruising his ribs, but he knew he was being stupid. He had felt the crack when he hit the wall. The only way to find out for sure how badly they were broken was to go to the hospital, but even then they would be able to do anything other than give him painkillers and it wasn’t like he was in any danger. If it was severe he would be in surgery right now. Still, that big guy could sure pack a punch.

Going to the hospital was not an option. Even if it would help, they would ask questions Rogue wouldn’t be able to answer, and he couldn’t go without an adult anyway, which meant telling Laxus or Makarov what had happened. He couldn’t outright lie to them after all they’d done for him and Frosch. Instead, he pulled his shirt on awkwardly and switched off the light, made his way down to the kitchen in the dark and pulled an ice pack out of the freezer, holding it gently to his side. The ice burned in a way Rogue didn’t even think possible, and he grit his teeth and hissed a small cry of pain that he hoped the others wouldn’t hear.

After twenty minutes, he put the ice back replaced his shirt over the injury. He’d just have to keep an eye on it. He made a mental note to go to the chemist on the way to school and get some over the counter painkillers. Makarov would notice if the ones in the medicine cabinet started disappearing. Rogue made his way back up the stairs, noting how much easier it had gotten to breathe since he’d stopped lying down. It wasn’t perfect, or even close, but he’d stopped gasping for air so much, and he could almost pass it off as normal if he didn’t have to breathe so quickly or shallowly. He climbed into bed again and wrapped the blanket around himself so he was propped up against the wall in a relaxed sitting position. _The next few days are going to be hell,_ he thought as he drifted off to sleep.

 

“Rogue?”

…

“Rogue?”

He groaned, sat up, and was rewarded with a pancake shoved under his nose.

“Frosch?” He asked groggily.

The girl in question grinned. “Laxus got me up and he said to leave you in bed a little bit longer ‘cause he heard you getting up in the night! Why are you sleeping sat up?”

_Shit._

“I just fell asleep like this.” Rogue replied lamely.

“That’s weird.” Frosch crinkled her nose.

“ _You’re_ weird,” Rogue smiled, poking his sister in the nose. “Move it frog-face, some of us have to get out of bed.”

Frosch poked her tongue out, but moved anyway, and Rogue ruffled her hair with his right arm. God, how he was glad he wasn’t left-handed.

“Laxus says you have twenty minutes.” Frosch informed him importantly.

“Does he now?” Rogue smiled.

“Uh-huh! And he says if you don’t move your butt, I get to beat you up!” She grinned.

Laxus appeared in the doorway. “And I wasn’t lying either. He eyed Rogue critically. “But seeing as how he’s out of bed now, we’ll hold off on the beating up until later. Come on, you need to get dressed, frog-face.”

Rogue smiled at the use of his nickname for Frosch.

“Scar-face!” The little girl shot back, bounding out of the room.

“Mature!” Laxus called after her.

“Well, duh, I’m seven!” She yelled down the hallway.

Laxus looked dumbstruck.

“She got that from Lector.” Rogue explained.

“Who probably got it from Sting.” Laxus added.

“I wouldn’t know.”

“Really? Natsu said you guys were sat together yesterday?”

“That had nothing to do with me.”

Laxus laughed. “If Sting decides he wants you to be his friend, you have no choice in the matter. The only thing you get to do is control how close the friendship gets.”

Rogue raised an eyebrow.

“You’re screwed.” Laxus snorted.

Rogue sighed and winced.

“Hey, you okay? I heard you moving around last night.” Laxus frowned.

“Felt sick.” _With pain._

“Whatever. Not my business anyway.” Laxus saw through the excuse, but said nothing. “You should shower or we’re all gonna be late.”

Laxus left, and Rogue showered; dressed in black jeans, a loose brown shirt and a black hoodie which he tied around his waist; and quickly ate his pancake while he pulled on his shoes. His ribs looked exactly the same as they had earlier, if not worse, because the bruising was beginning to come out properly now. He should have been more careful. Rogue went to Frosch’s room and spent the next three minutes doing her pigtails, by which time both the Cheneys were ready and Laxus was calling them over to the truck.

They reached Fiore Elementary with exactly six minutes to spare, and Rogue grabbed his bag and Fro’s, dashed inside, and dropped Fro off at the back of the line of kids waiting for Miss Connell to open the door. Lector wasn’t there yet, so Frosch went over to Natsu’s little blue haired brother while Rogue caught his breath. Running had been a mistake. He waved to Frosch and started the walk to Magnolia High alone, like he had done every day except yesterday, except more slowly than usual, because he still hadn’t properly caught his breath and his ribs twinged with every step he took. He wasn’t going to have time to go to the chemist.

 He arrived at class barely on time, to find everyone else already seated, including Sting who was in his usual seat in the centre of the room. Sting’s Uncle must have given him a lift, else Rogue would have passed him in the street. Sting looked up, caught Rogue’s eye, smiled, and looked away again. The blond was wearing a grey feather print scarf over his blue jacket, which was odd, because it wasn’t cold enough for that sort of thick scarf yet. Rogue decided to take the plunge, moving to the centre of the room and placing his bag down gently on the desk next to Sting’s and easing into the chair wordlessly, like he did it every day.

Sting grinned, and Rogue saw the tell-tale reddish purple of a bruise poking out from underneath his scarf. It almost exactly matched the colour of the one across his own ribs, except it was less vivid. Sting caught him looking and ducked his head sheepishly just as Gildarts started talking at the front of the class, and Rogue knew he was going to have to wait until the end to ask him about it.

He followed Sting out of homeroom at the end and walked alongside him as they headed towards Music. It turned out Sting was a pretty good drummer, and he usually practiced with Gajeel, who played electric guitar. Rogue walked in silence, waiting for Sting to explain himself, which soon enough, he did.

“Turns out the Smurf hit me harder than I thought yesterday,” Sting mumbled, face half buried in his scarf.

Rogue snorted. How could you not realise that someone that big had hit you that hard until the next day?

Sting caught his expression and chuckled. “Yeah, yeah, I know. I guess I was just focused on Yukino. You can’t tell her about it, by the way, she’ll freak. Minerva too. She thinks it’s all her fault. Anyways, I woke up this morning and there it was. I told Atlas I walked into a door, but he knows I got it from a fight.”

“And he didn’t ask?” Rogue replied, confused.

“Nah. Me and Natsu used to fight all the time when I first moved here. Atlas just passed it off as emotional confusion.” Sting laughed. “Now he just doesn’t ask. He knows I wouldn’t lie to him unless there was a good reason and I can’t get him involved.”

“Seems fair.”

“Yeah, well. You didn’t look too good yourself yesterday either. You hit that wall with a hell of a freaking force. I’m amazed you didn’t break your ribs, you gotta have a pretty decent bruise there too.”

Rogue gave a sheepish smile, but didn’t correct Sting on his analysis of Rogue’s injury.

“Wait…” Sting stopped walking and eyed him suspiciously. “You _didn’t_ break your ribs, did you?”

“No.” Rogue felt bad for the lie, but said it anyway.

“The look in your eyes says otherwise.” Sting said seriously.

“That sounded like a cheesy rhyming pickup line.” Rogue deadpanned.

“Yeah, you’re right. Sorry. Anyways, I was thinking since Lector and Frosch didn’t get their playdate yesterday, I could take them to the park today after school? Lector keeps complaining that he can never use the swing at school ‘cause our little cousin Happy keeps hogging it.” Sting asked, walking on again.

“Sure.”

“Awesome. Wanna come with to keep your crazy little sister away from the frogspawn?”

Rogue snorted.

“C’mon, it’ll be fun.” Sting pleaded.

“I have to run an errand but I’ll meet you there.”

“Awesome.” Sting grinned, then took off into the classroom to find his seat.

Rogue made his way into the next classroom along, like he always did, without going into the main classroom first. Their teacher, Mr. Ecor, had an alternative method of teaching which basically consisted of everyone going off and doing their own thing, and making his way around the music rooms to see what the students were up to. In Rogue’s case, it was classical piano music, something which completely contrasted his moody personality. His mother, Skiadrum, could never wrap her head around his liking for it, but she had taught him to play and encouraged him all the same because it was what he enjoyed doing. Rogue suspected she was just glad he wasn’t locked in his room playing screamo heavy metal music on an electric guitar.

As usual, Mr. Ecor came around, stood in the doorway listening to Rogue play for five minutes, and then left again without a word. Rogue continued to play, hoodie sleeves rolled up, without giving him a second thought, when the door opened again. Rogue ignored the second opening of the door and continued to play Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto religiously. It was the first piece of classical music his mother had ever taught him, and while it was an odd choice for a child to want to learn, he had loved it since he had first heard his mother play it and begged her to teach him.

It had taken her three years in total from the time she had taught him to play his first chords and read simple sheet music, but by the end of it, he had the piece memorized and could practically play it blindfolded. The music was soft and sad as always, and reminded him painfully of soft red eyes and kind gentle guiding hands that covered his own, urging him to continue despite his mistakes. Skiadrum’s long black hair used to tickle his arm when she sat next to him and play the music a key higher or lower depending on her mood, her smile encouraging, no matter how ill she was or how sad she felt.

The last few months of his mother’s illness, Rogue had refused to even go near the piano, no matter how much his mother gently encouraged him, or how much Frosch begged him for the lullaby he had been playing for her every night since she was two years old. Eventually, Skiadrum succumbed to her illness and Frosch stopped asking for a lullaby, and they had been sent to their local care home. Frosch had been a few weeks away from her fifth birthday then, crying for her mother and so, so confused as to why she had left them alone.

No matter how hard he tried, Rogue couldn’t stop the flood of memories that came with the music and by the time he reached the final, haunting notes, his face was hollow with sadness and regret. He dropped his hands to his lap and just stared at the keys, remembering how his mother had once told him that music was medicine for the soul and it should never be neglected. She’d been gone just over two years and it was still painful to play that piece of music. Yet he still loved it as much as the day he had begged to learn it. It was funny, really.

Someone cleared their throat in the doorway, and it was only then that Rogue remembered the door opening for the second time, and turned to see Sting stood there, blond hair framed by the sunlight from the window like some sort of messy gold halo.

“I didn’t know you played piano.” Sting said simply, as though he didn’t notice the crease between Rogue’s eyebrows, or the way his mouth turned down slightly at the corners.

“Yeah.”

“Beethoven, right? Weisslogia used to play him all the time when I was younger. I never really understood why he liked it until I heard that piece. It was weird, like it was really sad, but at the same time, I couldn’t help but like it. I haven’t heard it since he died.” Sting’s voice was barely a whisper by the end of the sentence, as though it were a secret nobody could hear.

“My Mom used it play it too.” Rogue replied.

“Sorry,” Sting grinned. “I’m getting all sentimental. C’mon, lunch started five minutes ago. I was gonna wait for you outside, but…  You don’t seem like the type of person that would play classical music, so I was curious.”

Rogue smiled and took his hand, wincing as Sting pulled him up. The other boy frowned, but said nothing about it.

“C’mon, we’re hiding from Yukino around the back of the gym so she doesn’t see our injuries.” Sting grinned. The blond practically dragged him by the hand out of the classroom, and all Rogue could think was _maybe I am ready for friends after all._


	10. Chapter 9 - Played and Playdate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm alive! And back! And I'm very very sorry . So I believe this is the bit where I apologise for disappearing. I've been really really flaky at updating, and I personally hate that, because I do love writing this story and seeing everyone's reactions, and I think I've honestly been really sucky. And seeing as how none of you actually know who I am, I may as well just tell you the truth in that I've been really really busy with uni, I've been having a couple of issues with my parents and to be perfectly honest, I've been struggling with some severe anxiety for a couple months now. I've ended up being ill because of it and there's stuff I haven't been able to do because of it and I've been getting quite frequent panic attacks which make me not want to go and do things because I get worried that I might have one in public. It's not ideal, and it's not fun, but I'm back now, even if I only do one chapter in like two months, I promise you guys I have every intention of finishing this fic. I promise.
> 
> Anyway, now that I've apologised and possibly overshared, I might as well get straight into this chapter so you guys can temporarily stop thinking I'm just lazy. Usual rules apply, and thanks for reading guys :)  
> Fro x

The pharmacy was still relatively quiet when Rogue entered the shop, which he was thankful for. A pleasant looking woman with cloud coloured hair that wasn’t quite white stood behind the counter at the far end of the store, and a blue haired employee in a green polo shirt was busy stocking hair products on a shelf at the beauty section. He made his way straight over to the counter at the back and was rewarded with a bright smile from the cloud-haired woman, whose nametag read ‘Grandeeney’.

“Hi, can I help you?” Grandeeney asked.

“Uh, yeah, I was wondering what kind of painkillers you would recommend for, uh… athletic injuries?” Rogue asked.

“Athletic injuries?”

“Yeah… uh, just a general kind of everyday thing.” Rogue replied awkwardly.

“Well, if you’ve pulled a muscle or sprained something, I’d say you should go with Naproxen… but you shouldn’t take too much of it. Of course, that goes for any kind of over the counter medicine really.” Grandeeney frowned.

“Uh… it’s more of a trauma injury? I, uh, it’s for a contact sport.” Rogue cursed his inability to lie convincingly.

“Oh, well, in that case, I’d say stick with Aspirin or Ibuprofen. They’re good for reducing swelling and inflammation. But if you need to take them for longer than a few days, I’d recommend seeing a doctor about your injury… I take it you’re the one with the injury?” Grandeeney said.

“Yeah.”

“Ribs?”

“How did you know?” Rogue frowned.

“Your breathing is shallow, you hold your torso stiffly and you’ve winced at least three times while taking a breath since you started talking to me.” Grandeeney smiled knowingly.

“Busted.” Rogue muttered.

“Relax, it’s fine. I’d stick with regular Aspirin if I were you, just to be on the safe side. I don’t really like giving out painkillers, but you seem like you actually need them, unlike some of the kids I get in here. Just remember, don’t- ”

“ –take too many of them. Got it.” Rogue interjected.

Grandeeney smiled. “Wendy! Bring me some Aspirin over, sweetheart?” She called across the store.

“Sure!” A bright, innocent voice came back over the shelves.

 _Wendy… Isn’t that the girl in my math class? Shit._ Rogue’s fears were confirmed when the blue haired employee turned out to be none other than Wendy Marvell, Gajeel Redfox’s sister and tiny Junior extraordinaire.

“Oh, hey!” Wendy greeted him, making her way behind the counter. “You’re in some of my classes! I’m Wendy! Sorry I haven’t had a chance to talk to you yet…”

“It’s fine. Rogue.” He took her hand and shook it, surprised by the amount of strength she put into it for such a tiny person.

“Right! Sting was telling me all about you! Well. Sorta. I mean, he told us how you might be joining the MMA team… Only you never actually showed up for a practice, so I guess maybe he got the wrong idea…”

“Yeah. I mean, I’ve fought before and everything, but I’m still trying to settle in and stuff.” Rogue felt really awkward.

“You should join! It’s super fun! Practice is every Wednesday and Friday, and it’s pretty much all Juniors and Seniors, so we all get along pretty well. Laxus is on the team, so it’s not like you don’t know anyone. Besides, Gildarts expects everyone who takes PhysEd to be on a sports team, and I don’t think you have one yet, do you?” Wendy said all of this practically without breathing and Rogue stood there for a moment, stunned.

_Of course. Sting said something yesterday about how Wendy’s a Dragonslayer._

“Uh, no, not yet.” He admitted.

“Wait a minute.” Grandeeney interjected. “If you aren’t actually on a team, how did you get injured?”

_Fuck. Today is not my day. Maybe if I spoke more often, I might be a better liar… Of course that would mean being social…_

“Uh… Accident.” _Wow, great lie Rogue, ten points to me._

Grandeeney narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “You know what, I can’t stop you buying painkillers if you need them, and I have no right to force the information out of you. You seem like a nice kid, so if you can promise me that you didn’t get it doing anything illegal or immoral, I’ll just forget I even heard anything.”

“I promise.” Rogue said.

“Okay then.” Grandeeney smiled at him and handed him over the Aspirin, which Rogue paid for, stuffed it in his backpack, and left the store with a quiet “Thanks”.

He was only a few steps away from the doorway when he heard the chime ring behind him again and hurried footsteps.

“Wait!” It was Wendy.

Rogue stopped and turned to face her. She seemed nice enough, so whatever she had to say was probably not going to kill him to listen to.

“It has something to do with Yukino, doesn’t it?” She asked. “Your ribs, I mean. Sting told Natsu yesterday about how something went down with Yukino, Minerva, Rufus and Orga, and I know that you were there too. Sting said you took a hit from someone or something like that. Gajeel told me.”

“Do you guys all have some super-secret Dragonslayer meeting club or something?!” Rogue blurted out.

Wendy just laughed. “No, but we talk a lot, I guess. Even Natsu and Gajeel, and those guys are always arguing. Wait, how did you know _I_ was a Dragonslayer?”

“Sting.”

“Oh… well, I only got it ‘cause Erza doesn’t compete in MMA tournaments and Minerva refuses to fight me… Anyways, from what I hear you took that hit pretty hard. Sting’s a little worried, although he would never say anything out of respect for your privacy, and well, that’s not the point. What I actually came to say was thanks for looking out for Yukino. She’s really nice, and she always seems to get the short end of the stick.” Wendy gushed.

“Oh. No problem, I guess.” Rogue muttered awkwardly.

“So, as a favour, and because you helped out Yukino, and because Sting really seems to like you, I figure that I should tell you that Gajeel mentioned to Laxus how something happened with Yukino yesterday, and he also knows that you’re ‘busted up pretty badly, but you won’t tell anyone’. Sting’s words, not mine.” Wendy informed him.

“Thanks. I guess I owe you a favour then.” Rogue smiled. Wendy was actually pretty cool.

“Great! I’ll see you around, Rogue!” Wendy skipped back inside.

 _Played like a pro,_ Rogue thought. _Damn it, she’s good._ Even so, he couldn’t bring himself to not like the little bluenette.

 

 

Sting was already at the park with Lector and Frosch by the time Rogue got there, his ribs aching significantly less than they were thanks to the Aspirin he’d taken just a few minutes after leaving the pharmacy. Unsurprisingly, the three of them were over by the pond, Lector sitting in the grass and throwing bread for the ducks, and Frosch leaning over to try and catch a frog. Sting was sat next to Frosch, having seemingly sensed that the real danger was with her, and he was right. She kept leaning further forward every few seconds and Sting had to keep reaching around and pulling her back. Lector, however, was perfectly calm and happy.

“Hey!” Sting grinned as soon as Rogue arrived. “I was starting to get worried.”

“Sorry. Took a little longer than I thought.” Rogue apologized.

“No problem.” Sting leaned in closer to Rogue. “How do you do this all the time? It’s like you blink for a second and your sister is already halfway to becoming one with the algae. She’s super fast and absolutely relentless!” He hissed.

Rogue just chuckled and shrugged. “Used to it I guess?”

“It’s a nightmare! You can’t take your eye off her for a second, or - ” At that moment, Sting seemed to realise that taking his eye off Frosch was exactly what he _had_ done, and he whipped around just in time to catch Fro in the act, her arm submerged up to her elbow in murky pondwater.

“No!” Sting cried out, covering his face as Rogue went to get her. “I was doing so well…”

Rogue had already stepped forward and scooped Frosch up away from the water before he realised his mistake, and quickly set her down again, hissing in pain quietly. He sat down next to her and pressed is hand into his side in an effort to numb the pain which, until now, had been just a dull ache.

“Dude, you okay?” Sting sounded worried.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Rogue replied.

“Roguie…?” Frosch sounded scared.

“I’m fine.” Rogue smiled at her. “You, on the other hand, are absolutely soaking wet, frog-face.”

Frosch just beamed at him, hands covered.

“Jacket off. And put the frog back,” Rogue sighed. He’d been through this procedure more times than he could count.

“But it’s my froggy now! And it’s my favourite!” Frosch pouted.

“Well then, you shouldn’t go sticking it in muddy ponds. Take it off. Put the poor little guy back in his house” Rogue ordered gently.

“I don’t wanna!” Fro stomped her foot.

“Are you gonna make me ask again? Do you want to walk around damp and dirty for the rest of the day? Do you want random strangers to walk past you and think you never wash? Do you want to catch a cold?” Rogue asked, struggling to keep a straight face at what had to have been the cutest temper tantrum ever. He was doing a much better job than Sting, who was currently helping Lector tear up pieces of bread, and grinning like an idiot.

Fro hesitated, and Rogue knew he had her.

“I’ll make you a deal. You take off your hoodie, and put back the innocent little kidnapped frog,  and I won’t tell Laxus that you put frogspawn in his green beanie last week after you were done with the teacup.” Rogue smiled. He was going to be in so much trouble with Laxus anyway, so he figured it wouldn’t really matter.

“Really?” Fro beamed.

“Really.” Rogue sighed.

“Okay.” Fro put the frog down next to the pond, which it immediately hopped back into and took off her jacket and waited patiently while Rogue pulled a spare green one out of her bag and stuffed the pink one in.

“And that, frog-face, is why I make you carry an extra, so don’t complain in future.”

Frosch skipped off to help Lector feed the ducks on the proviso that she stayed two steps back from the pond’s edge at all time, and Rogue went to stand with Sting.

“Laxus is going to kill you when he puts that beanie on.” Sting told him.

“I’m a dead man already.” Rogue told him.

“You are?” Sting looked concerned.

“Yep.” Rogue said, popping the p at the end.

“Dude…” Sting shook his head.

Rogue nodded.

“I’ll tell them to give you a nice funeral, man.” Sting grinned, clapped Rogue on the shoulder, and went to collect their siblings to go home.

 

 


	11. Chapter 10 - Past Truths

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I managed to pull myself together again for a few hours to write a new chapter. I'm not really sure that it flows all that well but I wanted to give the characters a little more backstory and finally set up a ship so here we are. Present for the Laxus fans out there... I wanted to bring him into it and have him put some things in perspective for Rogue, so yeah. Here we go. Usual rules apply, and I hope you like it.  
> Also I'm going to have a little mini celebration for reaching 20000 words! Yay!!   
> Fro x

Laxus was already sat on the sofa by the time Rogue and Frosch came home, and whilst the little girl ran straight over to him, Rogue dumped his bag in the hall and slipped past the open door and into the laundry room so he could throw Fro’s waterlogged hoodie onto the washing pile. He wasn’t quite ready for a confrontation yet. He just had to hope that Gajeel hadn’t run his mouth off to Laxus as well as Wendy, but the chances of that were really pretty slim. They all knew something was wrong with Yukino anyway, but Rogue doubted that they knew any of the details, because Minerva had been practically growling at anyone who tried to ask her.

“Roguie! Laxus says we can have pizza for tea!” Frosch bounded down the stairs to the laundry room and stopped inches short of crashing headfirst into him.

“Awesome. But if you have pizza tonight, that means you have to have something healthy tomorrow, right? That’s what Makarov said.” Rogue smiled.

“I know…” Frosch sighed. One of her pigtails was crooked.

“I’m sure we can get away with it though.” He stage-whispered, pulling Fro’s hair straight.

“Yay! I’m gonna go play with my squishy frogs!” With that Frosch sprinted back off up the stairs, knocking into Laxus at the top.

“Hey, watch where you’re going frog-face!” He laughed.

Rogue contemplated going into the home gym and back up the stairs on the other side of the house to avoid being alone with Laxus, but by the time he made up his mind to do so, the blond was already at the bottom of the stairwell. _Shit._ Rogue nodded at him and made for the door that Laxus had just entered through, but the blond put out a hand and stopped him leaving, shutting the door behind him, and gently pushing him back into the room by his shoulder.

“Something you wanna tell me?” He asked.

“No.” Rogue avoided eye contact.

“Don’t give me that bullshit. I’m not dumb.” Laxus scoffed.

Rogue said nothing.

“Hey. Hey, look at me Rogue, stop being so damn difficult.” Laxus seemed annoyed.

Rogue sighed and dragged his gaze up to glare at the older teen.

“What’s your problem, man? Gajeel told me you and Sting and a couple other guys got into a fight?”

“We didn’t get into a fight. It just happened.” Rogue muttered.

“It just happened? You know the only reason I know is ‘cause Sting was worried about you? What did you do?”

“I didn’t DO anything.”

“Really? Cause it’s not just you walking around all wounded looking. Orga Nanagear has a black eye; Rufus Lore’s got a bandage around his knuckles – and that kid never has a scratch on him; Minerva Orland is acting like someone went out of their way to set fire to her underwear; Sting’s got a bruise the size of a giant’s fist on his jaw; and don’t even get me started on Yukino Agria. All juniors, all friends with each other, and none of them saying a word about anything other than ‘Yukino fell’. No way in hell did she fall, she’s got finger marks on her neck!” Laxus raised his voice.

“It wasn’t our fault, okay! We tried to help her!” Rogue yelled.

Laxus seemed stunned into silence for a few seconds by Rogue’s sudden outburst.

“Forget it. Just forget I said anything. Leave it.” Rogue tried to leave again, but Laxus stopped him a second time.

“Tell me what happened. Please.”

“I can’t.” Yukino hadn’t wanted anyone to worry, so she’d sworn them all to secrecy.

“It goes no further than me. Whatever you say to me, right now, stays between us.” Laxus looked Rogue directly in the eye. “You and me, kid. I won’t tell anyone.”

“I can’t. You would have to tell someone.” Rogue felt bad for refusing but Laxus just sighed and sat himself down on the floor against the counter.

“You want to talk about what I would and wouldn’t do? You don’t know anything about me. And maybe it’s hypocritical of me to say so, seeing as how I know nothing about you either, but we’re more or less brothers now. You’ve spoken more to Sting in the past two days than you’ve spoken to me in two whole months. There’s gotta be some trust established here.” Laxus looked up at him from his patch of floor and Rogue sighed and sat down next to him, imitating the way Laxus rested his forearms on his knees.

“I don’t know what you want from me. Half the time you’re stone cold and the other half you act like you’ve never said a rude word to anyone.” Rogue admitted.

“Yeah, yeah, I get that. I do. I still keep up a tough guy act, because if I didn’t, I would have been slaughtered a long time ago. But it doesn’t have to be like that. Why do think I tried to get you to make friends when you first started school here? I don’t want you to make the same mistakes I did.” Laxus took a deep breath. “About three years ago, I went completely off the rails. I was still living with my Dad at the time, not too far from here, and I got friendly with a crowd of kids that lived nearby. My Dad approved of them because most of their parents worked with him so I stuck with them because truth be told, my Dad is a giant asshole, and I didn’t want to get on the wrong side of him.” Laxus smiled wryly.

“So what happened?” Rogue asked, genuinely curious.

“I’m getting to that part. I only had a couple of friends before I stared hanging around with that crowd, but one of them was Mirajane Strauss. We grew up together, and we were pretty close back when we were kids. Anyway, the more time I spent with my new friends, the more my Dad made it clear that he disliked my old friends, so I cut ties with them. It didn’t matter to me that I had spent my entire childhood with them, or that they still cared about me, because I didn’t care about them. All I cared about was doing what my Dad thought was the best thing for me to do. I would see them in the street and cross the road to avoid them.

“About six months after I told her I didn’t want anything to do with her anymore, Mira showed up outside my school crying. Her parents had been killed in an accident at one of my Dad’s construction sites because of an electrical fault, and he didn’t want anything to do with it. She was in hysterics because her family was about to get kicked out of their apartment, and it was just her, Elfman and Lisanna; and they had barely any money to survive on. I told her it wasn’t any of my business because we weren’t friends anymore.” Laxus laughed bitterly.

“Seriously?” Rogue asked.

“I’m not proud of it. I don’t think I’ll ever forgive myself for it. I don’t think Mira will either, no matter how much I pretend she might.” Laxus admitted.

“What did you do?” Rogue wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answer. It wasn’t the sort of thing he thought Laxus would do, but here he was, hearing the story firsthand.

“I didn’t do anything. Not at first anyway. Mira’s family got kicked out of their house and started living in a hostel, but she managed to hold them together anyway. I could see the fury in her eyes whenever she saw me, but I still did nothing. And then her sister got hit by a car. My Dad’s car. He just left her lying in the middle of the street to die, and the only reason I knew it was him was because I saw the damn dent in his car when he got home. So I told him he had to go to the cops when I found out about the crash the next morning; and when he refused, I told him I’d do it myself. He tried to stop me, and that’s how I got this.” Laxus tapped the jagged scar that was cut into his face over his right eye.”

Rogue couldn’t think of anything to say to that other than ‘ _Shit’,_ so he kept his mouth shut. He’d always wondered how Laxus had gotten the scar, and he knew there was some sort of problem with Laxus’ Dad, but he didn’t think it was anything like that, and to tell the truth, he was slightly horrified.

“Needless to say, I ended up in hospital, told the police everything, and my Dad ended up in prison. Mirajane even came to visit me to say thank you for doing what I did with my Dad, but I told her to get lost because I knew I didn’t deserve it. Then I came to live with Gramps, got myself sorted out, made things right with the people I’d hurt because of my own selfishness and started talking to my old friends again. I couldn’t bring myself to talk to Mira though. Her sister spent months in a coma, and it was like the light in her eyes just died, and I knew that if I had done something sooner, I could have stopped it. It wasn’t until Lisanna got better that I started to talk to her again, but I still feel guilty every time I do. Gramps pays their rent and bills now as well as paying Mira for working at the bar. It’s the only thing I’ve ever asked him to do, but she doesn’t know that.”

“So that’s why you want me to make more of an effort.” Rogue realised aloud.

“I don’t want you to fuck up like I did.” Laxus grinned.

“Does she know that you asked Makarov to do all that stuff for her?”

“Nah. She thinks it’s all Gramps’ idea.” Laxus said, leaning his head back. “I don’t deserve her gratitude, and I definitely don’t want her to feel like she owes me.” They lapsed into a comfortable silence, the only sound in the house Frosch running around in her bedroom.

“A couple of guys attacked Yukino yesterday. In the alleyway around the back of the school.” Rogue said quietly a few minutes later.

“So you went to help her.” Laxus stated.

“Yeah, me and Sting. Minerva, Orga and Rufus showed up a few minutes later. Yukino doesn’t want anyone to know about it.” Rogue added, hoping Laxus took the hint.

“Why would someone attack Yukino? Doesn’t make any sense. She’s practically niceness personified.” Laxus asked nobody in particular.

“They worked for Minerva’s father. Jiemma Orland.” Rogue replied shortly.

“Damn. Now there’s someone I can relate to. At least Minerva had the guts to leave before something drastic happened. Sending someone out to get Yukino is just beyond low, though.” Laxus sighed.

“Yeah well, it’s the sort of thing Jiemma would do.” Rogue said bitterly, remembering his own experience with the man.

“You know the guy?” Laxus frowned.

“He gets people to fight for entertainment and bets on them. People like me who had no choice and needed the money because they have a little sister to take care of, or a kid, or they’re in debt. Then when they decide they want out they end up in hospital, or he finds them and forces them to come back. I got lucky when I got out I guess.” Rogue said.

Laxus sighed. “Well, I guess it’s too late to stop _you_ doing dumb stuff.”

Rogue laughed and grimaced at the twinge in his side. Laxus’ face became serious again.

“You got injured in that fight, didn’t you? Why haven’t you told anyone?”

“It’s nothing.” Rogue lied. _And the winner for most convincing liar of the day goes to Rogue Cheney. Even Fro could do better than that, idiot,_ he thought.

“Like Hell it is. Pull your shirt up.” Laxus ordered.

“It’s fine.”

Laxus glared, reached over and yanked the hem or Rogues shirt up. “Holy shit…” he breathed, staring at the mottled mess of purple and red.

“It’s fine!” Rogue repeated.

“Are you kidding me?? How are you not in agony??” Laxus asked incredulously.

“I went to the pharmacy…” Rogue muttered, half embarrassed. _‘Cause that makes everything okay, idiot,_ he told himself.

“Jesus Christ.”

“You can’t say anything. You promised.” Rogue reminded him, slightly panicked.

“I didn’t think your ribs were fricking cracked or something!”

“It’s barely a fracture.” Rogue said, underestimating how bad he thought it was.

“You have to go to a hospital.”

“I can’t.”

“You seriously need to, are you crazy?”

“How do I explain how I got it?” Rogue asked harshly.

Laxus sighed.

“Look, please. Just please. They can’t do anything anyway.” Rogue pleaded.

Laxus hesitated.

“Please.”

“Fine, but next time you get in trouble, you call me.” Laxus stated.

“Deal.” Rogue agreed. At least that was one less thing to worry about. Or so he hoped.


	12. Chapter 11 - Group Hiding Session

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back? Actually don't guess, it's probably pretty obvious... So I've finished uni for the year which means I'm going to try and spend a little more time actually writing in order to get this finished! I'll probably stick to random oneshots after that, although I have another archive account which I'm going to use for writing book fanfictions as opposed to anime/manga stuff, so if any of you are massively into fiction, let me know and I'll give you my pseud for that (I won't be posting anything for a while though as I'd like to write it all out first - warning: there will be ocs as I'm trying out new stuff so I can eventually write my own original fiction).
> 
> Back to the point, which is the story - I've actually really missed writing this and you guys have all been super nice about wanting new chapters, but not being pushy about it, so I just want to say thanks for being so understanding of everything - you guys rock! I haven't been on here in a while, so it's amazing to see how many more Stingue fics there are, and how many more writers are contributing, the ship is growing! *makes excited squealing noise*
> 
> Anyway, here is a chapter, comments please, constructive criticism yes, hating no (y'all know the rules), and I hope you enjoy it!  
> Fro x

Laxus kept his word and a week later, he still hadn’t told anyone about the fight and Rogue’s resulting injury. The bruises on his side had faded slightly, although they were still just as painful as they were the day he told Laxus about them, and the senior was still trying to persuade him to go to a doctor. Rogue was adamant he could handle the pain, something which annoyed Laxus to no end, because he could still make out the grimace on the younger teen’s face anytime he tried to do anything remotely physically taxing.

Yukino was recovered, for the most part, although Minerva refused to let her go home alone, forcing the girl to stay at Erza’s house with her until she was certain her father was going to leave them both alone. Rufus checked in with the tiny teen almost daily – there was a blatant crush if Rogue ever saw one – and Sting made a point of making sure Yukino was always with either himself or Rogue at any given time between classes.

It seemed as though none of the other five students involved in the alleyway fight were willing to forget about it or let it go and Rogue himself was no different. He spent a good hour a day seething with rage over the audacity of Jiemma Orland and his lackeys, and the rest of the time either feeling sorry for himself because of his ribs (he was pretty much certain they were cracked at this point) or avoiding Sting, who was extremely suspicious of Rogue’s sudden constant exhaustion. Rogue made a point of being the first one out of classes when the bell rang after every lesson in order to find a quiet hiding place for his lunch or morning break just so he didn’t have to deal with Sting’s constant interrogations.

His favourite hiding place, and the one he visited most regularly, was right in the far corner of the field. He would lean back and settle himself into the corner of the chain-link fence, hidden behind a small gathering of bushes and shrubs that were just the right height to conceal him, but not too tall as to block out the sunlight. It was here that he was found by the last person he ever expected to go looking for him, two weeks after he had last seen her.

“Oh… um… hi. I don’t suppose I could sit here with you could I?” The tiny blue haired nightmare that was Wendy Marvell poked her head out from between two branches.

Rogue raised an eyebrow, sighed, and gestured to the empty patch of grass at his side.

“Thanks!” Wendy beamed. “Sorry, I kinda saw you come over here and figured, this is a really good hiding place! I don’t know why I never thought of it… I’m avoiding Gajeel, see. Oh, and Romeo too. And Natsu and Sting and Erza… and Lucy… actually I think I’m pretty much avoiding everyone. Even Sherria.” The small girl’s expression turned glum.

Rogue couldn’t help himself, he actually kind of liked Wendy. She was smart enough to be able to trick him, bright and sassy, and she reminded him a little of Frosch except she was a lot more capable of looking after herself. He mentally kicked himself for getting involved, and then did it anyway.

“Why?”

“Huh? Oh it’s nothing. Well, I mean it’s not nothing, but it’s probably not anything you wanna hear about, especially as you probably came all the way over here so you could be by yourself and all.” Wendy smiled ruefully. “It’s not a big deal.”

“If I didn’t want to hear, I wouldn’t have asked. Spill it, midget.” Rogue deadpanned.

“I am not a midget!” Wendy scowled, sticking her tongue out at him. “It’s about Mest.”

“Mest?” The name seemed familiar to Rogue. Yukino or Sting had probably mentioned it at some point.

“Mest Gryder. He’s a senior here at the school. We’re really good friends and I really like him, only Gajeel doesn’t approve and he found out that we were hanging out together over the weekend, and then he went and told our cousin Natsu. So of course now Sting knows, because anything Natsu knows Sting hears about eventually, and he’s on my case about it too, and they’ll probably tell Uncle Atlas and Uncle Igneel about it at some point and then my parents will know, that’s if Gajeel doesn’t tell them first. Anyway, Natsu told Lucy, so now she and Erza know and Erza keeps telling me to be ‘true to my heart’ every five minutes and Lucy keeps making jokes about how everyone wants to date me, because Romeo Conbolt in the sophomore year asked me out. So I’m avoiding him too because I don’t wanna date him and he keeps giving me these really annoying sad heart eyes, and my best friend Sherria is in his class and she keeps telling me that I should give Romeo a chance because he’s ‘nice and smart and sweet’ and Mest is way too old for me! ”

“Sting and Natsu are your cousins?” Rogue asked, confused.

“REALLY?! _That’s_ the piece of information you focus on?!” Wendy screeched.

“Sorry. Nobody ever mentioned it. Anyway, I don’t get what the issue is?” Rogue said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“The issue is that Natsu and Sting and Gajeel can’t stay out of my business, Erza and Lucy keep broadcasting my business, and Romeo and Sherria keep trying to meddle in my business!” Wendy looked like she wanted to bury her head in the dirt.

“Have you told Lucy and Erza how you feel about this? Girls are usually pretty good with backing off about that sort of thing.” Rogue suggested.

“No…” Wendy replied meekly, cheeks going slightly pink.

“Have you told your friend Sherria that you really aren’t interested in Romeo and Mest is only one year older than you?”

“Yes. But she won’t listen.”

“Does she like anyone?”

“She has the hugest crush on Lyon…”

“The white haired stripper brother?” Rogue asked, genuinely perplexed.

Wendy burst out laughing.

“What?”

“The… white haired… stripper brother!” Wendy choked out, gasping for breath.

“But… he is, right?” Rogue was genuinely confused.

“Well, yeah, yeah he is, it’s just that people don’t normally totally out the guy as a stripper like that. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have laughed. It was funny though.” Wendy smiled. “Anyway, yeah Sherria has a huge crush on Lyon ‘the white haired stripper brother’. It’s kinda sad actually cause he’s so obviously uninterested.”

“It’s okay. And, well, he’s a junior right. So he’s a year older than her…” Rogue informed the girl.

“Yeah, he is… I don’t see… oh!” Wendy’s eyes widened as Rogue’s words finally clicked.

“See. So if she’s in the same boat, you can call her out as a hypocrite. And then ask for her help in very politely telling Romeo Conbolt to back off ever so slightly.” Rogue raised an eyebrow. Or rather, Rogue raised both eyebrows because he didn’t know how to just raise one, but nobody ever noticed anyway because only one of his eyes was visible.

“Yeah, that’s awesome! It still doesn’t help me out with my stupid brother and cousins though.” Wendy said glumly.

“Well, I mean, Sting and Natsu follow each other wherever they go right? What I’m trying to say is if you just get one of them to back off, I’m sure they can convince the other one to follow. And as for Gajeel… I would suggest you just talk to him. From what I’ve seen, he’s not actually really all that scary.” Rogue said carefully.

“Yeah, I know,” Wendy sighed, as if this was the exact thing she’d been trying to avoid. “I guess I just don’t want Gajeel knowing all my personal business. Maybe I should have told him sooner… but it’s not like he talks to me about stuff either, he told our little brother Lily about his ‘stupid crush’ on Levy McGarden before he told me!”

Rogue raised an eyebrow again (two eyebrows).

Wendy reddened. “Oh no, please don’t tell anyone I told you that!”

“It was obvious.”

“Oh. Anyway, how am I supposed to talk to Sting and Natsu about it? Natsu’s a total hothead, and like you said, they follow wherever each other goes, except for… you!” Wendy smiled brightly.

“I don’t like where this is going…”

“Think about it, they don’t always listen to each other! I mean sure Natsu listens to Sting, but he’s really scared of Erza, and Lucy sometimes too, so if I asked one of _them_ to talk to him…” Wendy looked like she was plotting world domination.

“I still don’t see what that has to do with me.” Rogue frowned.

“Who is the _one_ person that Sting listens to other than Natsu?”

“Minerva?”

“No! Don’t be silly, that’s totally the other way around. Minerva may be totally scary, but Sting has some kind of weird magnetic personality.”

Rogue snorted.

“It’s you! Sting listens to literally every word you say! He has since day one! I don’t know why he took such a shine to you, but he did, so if _you_ spoke to him for me, I’m sure he’d listen to you!” The blue haired girl bounced excitedly.

“No.” Rogue said flatly.

“What?” Wendy’s face fell. “Why?”

“You think I’m sat over here for fun? I’m avoiding people too.”

“Sting? But why?”

Rogue tapped his ribs gently.

“Oh… you didn’t tell him?”

Rogue snorted again.

Wendy looked disapproving, and scooted in front of Rogue to make eye contact. “Look, I get it, okay, you don’t want people to know because they would find out that you were in a fight, and you’re trying to protect everyone. But all the other Dragonslayers know, and Sting was actually there! He suspects something’s up anyway!”

“Which is precisely why I’m avoiding him.” Rogue deadpanned.

“Fine. I didn’t wanna have to do this to you Rogue, but,” Wendy’s eyes narrowed dangerously, “you said a couple weeks ago that you owed me a favour. Well I’m taking this opportunity to call it in.”

Rogue paled. “You’re kidding.”

“I am not. You’re going to go talk to Sting for me, even if it kills you. Avoiding someone like that is just silly.”

“Hypocrite.” Rogue said. _Sneaky, underhanded, evil little mastermind,_ he thought.

“I never claimed not to be. Please Rogue, c’mon. We’re friends, right? Right?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if you tried for world domination one day.” Rogue stated flatly.

“Does that mean you’ll talk to him for me?”

“If you talk to Gajeel.”

“Yay!” Wendy grinned. “ You know, you should be some sort of counsellor of something. I hear you had a really deep and meaningful conversation with Laxus the other day, too…”

“No.”

“Why not?” Wendy asked.

“I don’t like talking to people.” Rogue replied, reaching over to ruffle her hair. Wendy merely laughed and swatted him away. Rogue sighed, shook his head, and leaned back against the chain-link fence.

Damn that kid and her puppy dog eyes and her evil genius schemes. How could a kid like that be so devious? Talking things out with Sting was not something he was looking forward to having to do. At all. Thanks to Wendy, though, it seemed like he didn’t have a choice in the matter. Out of the corner of his vision, he saw the tiny blue haired girl lean back against the fence next to him, and shut his eyes. Damn that girl. He wouldn’t be surprised if she’d planned this out from the start.


	13. Chapter 12 - Seeking Sting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! I didn't actually take three months between chapters this time, and yes, I know it's slightly short, but this one was more about wrapping up a couple things and starting off some new ones! Moving to phase two.... XD I can tell you I won't be updating for a few weeks as I'm headed to the no internet life world where I have to rely on mobile data and have no laptop, but ASAP I will get writing! Thanks to all of you guys for your lovely comments and I will update again when I can! Comments wanted, criticism appreciated, flaming not allowed :)  
> Fro xx

Rogue took his promises and favours very seriously. He didn’t like to feel as though he owed anyone anything, and he always felt extremely guilty about going back on his word. So it was for that reason, and that reason _only_ (who was he kidding) that he found himself waiting outside the piano room after last period to talk to Sting for Wendy. It wasn’t something he was looking forward to doing; in fact quite the opposite, but a promise was a promise and no matter how much he had tried to avoid Sting and no matter how awkward this conversation was going to be, he was going to have to do it anyway. Rogue had had the better part of an hour to mentally prepare himself for the discussion of Wendy’s love life. What he was not prepared for was Sting’s attitude as he exited the classroom.

“Look, its Rogue! I was beginning to think you’d developed an allergy to your friends!” Sting announced, voice dripping with sarcasm. Rogue had never not seen Sting with a smile on his face, so the blond’s sudden bitterness threw him.

“Can we talk?” Rogue asked quietly.

“Oh, so _now_ you wanna talk. I’ve been trying to talk to you for like a week. I’ve barely seen you since we took Lector and Frosch to the park!” Sting came to a stop in front of Rogue, arms crossed and eyebrows raised. “And now you want to _talk_.”

Rogue nodded.

“Fine.” Sting gestured to the door behind Rogue. “Let’s go talk.”

Rogue sighed and pushed the door open, settling himself awkwardly in the middle of the room facing Sting as the door shut behind them. Neither one of them sat down, opting to stand in silence, the tension in the room almost visible.

“I’m sorry.” Rogue muttered.

“What was that? Didn’t quite hear you past your fringe.” Sting mocked.

“I said I’m sorry. I… I guess I’ve been avoiding you a bit and I shouldn’t have been.” Rogue said, looking Sting in the eye. The blond softened visibly at his apology.

“Look, I get that I can be a lot to handle sometimes as a friend, and yeah, I can get a bit over-excited and shit, but maybe just tell me next time?” Sting sounded uncertain, and Rogue immediately felt awful.

“No! No, it was nothing like that, I mean, it wasn’t you, it was me, and-”

“Are you breaking up with me?” Sting interjected with a smirk.

Rogue snorted. “Hilarious.”

“Well, I mean, I try.” The blond winked. Rogue felt the blush spread across his face almost instantly, but chose to ignore it.

“The truth is, I wasn’t avoiding you because of you, I was avoiding you because, well. I lied to you. Just a little bit.”

“You what? You lied to me? When?”

“I… last week. After we fought those guys.” Rogue didn’t see the need to tell Sting just exactly how much he knew about Tartaros, and how involved he had been, so he decided to leave that part out before the conversation even started.

“Well? I’m waiting to hear it.” Sting was on the defensive again, and Rogue already hated being on the receiving end of it.

“You were right. About my ribs. And… I shouldn’t have told you otherwise and that was wrong of me but I didn’t want anyone to know about it. Figured you’d just make a huge fuss over it all.”

“What do you mean?” Sting looked slightly confused now. “I mean, I know you’ve got a pretty bad bruise, cause Wendy told me you went to her place for painkillers-”

“What?”

“Well, yeah, she told me about it last week. Then she got all worried that she let slip, said not to tell you – _Oh._ Oops.” Sting smiled sheepishly.

“Little snitch.”

“Ah, it wasn’t her fault. She just gets her head in the clouds sometimes. But seriously, you told me your ribs were fine so, unless you’re telling me that you actually have a fractured ribcage or some shit, you-” Sting cut himself off when the raven-haired teen looked down at the floor. “You told me your ribs weren’t broken. You lied to me about that?”

Rogue just looked at the floor a little more. There was a really interesting faint fish-shaped stain on the beige carpet just to the right of the piano stool that he decided to focus on instead of Sting. It was probably from some kid dropping their soda or something, even though technically drinks weren’t allowed in there. Either that or someone had thrown up extremely artistically, because it wasn’t exactly a pretty shade of brown. Rogue was so focussed on not focussing on Sting that he hadn’t noticed the blond step closer, and when a hand brushed the bottom of his shirt, he jumped slightly.

Sting glanced up at Rogue before tugging gently at the hem of his shirt, lifting it up to expose the mess of bruising spreading across the dark-haired boy’s side, which somehow seemed to look worse and worse every time Rogue looked at it. God knows it wasn’t getting any less painful. Sting sucked in a sharp breath and reached out, cool fingers brushing Rogue’s side, putting slight pressure on the injury. It would have been a pleasant moment if it weren’t for the pain that spiked along Rogue’s ribcage, drawing a hiss out from between clenched teeth.

“Sorry!” Sting said hastily, drawing his hand back. “I didn’t mean… Rogue, why didn’t you tell me?”

“Easier not to.” Rogue shrugged.

“Rogue, you… no.” Sting whispered. The blond’s hand was still on Rogue’s shirt, the back of it lightly pressing against his good side. The two stood there for a moment silently, blue eyes flickering down slightly before reconnecting with Rogue’s. Rogue couldn’t help but hold his gaze, something almost mesmerising about the way Sting was looking at him, and then Sting cleared his throat and looked away, taking a step back.

“We should go pick up Lector and Frosch,” Sting murmured, making his way out.

“Wait!”

“What?” Sting smiled.

“It’s Wendy. She, uh, she’s embarrassed about the whole thing with Mest, and she just wants you and Natsu and Gajeel to stop bothering her about it. She kinda feels like you’re meddling and she wanted me to ask you to back off about it…”

Sting grinned. “Wendy wants me to drop it? And she got you to ask me?”

Rogue nodded.

“Do you want me to drop it?”

“It doesn’t matter what I want. It’s Wendy’s business.”

“It matters to me what you want.” Sting took a step closer, teasingly. “Do _you_ want me to drop it?” _Was Sting flirting with him??_

“Will you drop it if I say no?” Rogue could feel the blush rising to his cheeks again. _What the hell was the matter with him today?_

“Probably not.” Sting smirked.

“Then yes, I want you to drop it.” Rogue rushed the words, looking away from Sting.

“Okay then. C’mon, I’ll get Wendy to pick up Lector and Frosch. Seems like she owes you one.”

“Where are we going?”

“ _You_ are going to get your ribs checked by Grandeeney.”

“Great.”

“Hey Rogue?”

“Yeah?”

“Try not to bring up my baby cousin next time I have my hand up your shirt.” Sting winked, pushing open the door and waiting for Rogue to follow. Rogue really had nothing to say to that.


	14. Chapter 13 - Semi-embarrassing Paint Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I'm back! Sorry, I know its been months since I updated, and tbh most of you have probably given up on this fic now, not that it was really an amazing piece of writing in the first place, but I feel like it's all over the place... but anyway. Life happened (I've been working two jobs and doing uni and trying to still have friends while doing all this which has not been great for my stress levels) but I have a free day so I thought I'd do some writing and make some tension between my otp and totally make their lives awkward in the story... which I guess has kinda worked out?  
> But yeah. Have a chapter, please don't hate me, I really am sorry. Usual rules apply. Enjoy!  
> Fro xx

Rogue had never felt this awkward in his life. Sting had all but dragged him to the Pharmacy, where he was now sat on a couch in the back room having his ribs checked over by Grandeeney. That wasn’t the awkward part though, the awkward part was where Sting kept smirking at him every time they made eye contact because Rogue was sat there with his shirt off, and Sting seemed to appreciate the sight a little more than he should. Not that Rogue was about to bring up that little fact in conversation. Hell, he didn’t even know if Sting was gay or not. Sting probably wasn’t gay.

 _I mean,_ Rogue thought, _it’s not like you see many straight guys wandering around in cropped shirts… no. Don’t do this to yourself. You do not have a crush on your closest friend. Don’t go there. Do not-_

“Rogue?” Grandeeney smiled at him a little worriedly. “Your ribs are definitely cracked, why didn’t you go to a doctor?”

“I... uh… personal reasons.” Rogue muttered.

“He’s a stubborn asshole,” Sting supplied helpfully with a big sunny grin, which earned him a glare from Rogue.

“Language.” Grandeeney scolded. “Rogue, you really should get these ribs x-rayed.”

Rogue shook his head.

“Uh… no offence, but he didn’t exactly get that playing baseball.” Sting pointed out, slipping an apple from his pocket and taking a bite. “Not the sort of thing you can explain away at the hospital.”

“And how _did_ he get it then, young man? Seeing as you seem to know so much about it?” Grandeeney’s glare was ice cold. “Have you been dragging him into your fights now?”

“My what? No! It’s Rogue’s business how he got it, and I don’t fight people! Not outside the ring, anyway.” Sting smirked.

“Gajeel? Natsu? I remember what you were like when you first came here. You’d pick a fight with anyone willing to go a few rounds in an alleyway.”

Sting raised an eyebrow at Rogue mockingly at that.

“I mean it Sting.” Grandeeney lectured. “You’d better not be starting fights again, or I swear…”

“I’m not! Jeez! I’m not a kid, okay! Relax! I don’t go around picking fights anymore. I’m a lovely young man. Hey, Rogue, have an apple.” Sting pulled a second apple out of his pocket and tossed it to Rogue, who just managed to catch it with his right hand. “See? I share food and everything,” he grinned teasingly. Rogue smiled back and pocketed his own apple.

Grandeeney shook her head at the two of them. “Well, there’s nothing more I can do for you Rogue except give you some stronger painkillers and a note excusing you from gym class for the next month or so.”

“Result!” Sting grinned at Rogue who just shook his head at the blond.

“I’ll leave you to get your shirt back on, Rogue, come meet me out front when you’re done,” Grandeeney smiled before leaving the room.

Sting looked up at Rogue. “See? Wasn’t so bad now, was it?”

“Guess not.”

“Oh come on, don’t get all grumpy on me now.” Sting watched Rogue struggle with his shirt for a few seconds before pushing himself up off the wall he was leaning on and helping him out, something which wasn’t helping Rogue’s sudden crush situation. “You actually get working painkillers and a break from Gildarts!”

Rogue merely smiled.

“Fine then Mr. Silent and brooding,” Sting teased, “Don’t answer me properly.”

“Fine then,” Rogue smirked. He seemed  to realise how close he and Sting were standing and cleared his throat quietly. “We should, uh, go get Lector and Frosch from Wendy. They’re probably out front.”

“Sure,” Sting smirked, taking a small step back. “After you, then.”

Rogue made his way through to the front of the pharmacy as quickly as humanly possible without actually running, his face literally on fire with embarrassment. Sure enough, Wendy was watching Lector play in the aisles with a pale blonde girl; and a dark skinned boy with close cropped hair and a scar.

“Hey Rogue!” The bluenette smiled cheerfully as she caught sight of him. “How did the thing go?”

“Uh… fine.” Rogue muttered awkwardly.

“So, uh…” Wendy lowered her voice. “You asked Sting to leave me alone then?”

“Yup.”

“And..?”

“He agreed.” Rogue turned to make eye contact. “Eventually. That’s the last favour I ever do for you.”

“Aww, you don’t mean that!” Wendy grinned, looking over Rogue’s shoulder. “Hey Sting!”

“Hey Wendy. Having fun minding the kids?”

“Mind your own damn brother.” Wendy pouted at Sting. “I have enough on my plate with Happy, Carla and Lily because _someone_ wants to go hang out with Natsu.”

“Happy?” Sting looked confused. “Happy isn’t here.”

Wendy paled. “He’s not?! I saw him a second ago! Happy?”

 “Happy wandered off,” Lector said, poking his head out from behind a shelf with a pout. “He went somewhere with Fro. They didn’t even ask me.”

“Shit.” Rogue swore, running out to the shop front. “Frosch? Fro, where are you?” He called.

Wendy and Sting were still searching the inside of the shop for Happy (Natsu’s little brother) and neither of the two children were visible on the street outside. Rogue made his way back in, panicked, and was just about to find Grandeeney to ask her if she’d seen either of them on her way out to the back when he heard a giggle coming from an open door to his left.

Happy and Frosch were playing around in a sink in a side room and the water was bright green with paint - as were the floor, the wall and all of Frosch’s clothes and face. It was Rogue’s personal worst luminous nightmare.

“Found them!” Rogue called, making his way over to the sink to peel his sister away from the mess.

Sting and Wendy appeared within seconds to remove Happy from the disaster zone and try to get rid of the paint before it stained. Frosch on the other hand, was squirming and sulking about the end of her playtime.

“But Fro wants to be green like a frog!”

“Fro can’t be green like a frog,” Rogue sighed. “You’re lucky your hair’s green anyways, else I’d never get this crap out.”

“Rogue swore!” Frosch gasped.

“Yeah, I swear you’ll be the death of me someday, little frog. I’m gonna go grey before I’m twenty if you keep this up…”

“Fro wants to be green!”

“It doesn’t really work that way, paint just washes off, Fro. Literally all you’ve done is make a mess.”

By this point, Wendy had taken Happy to re-join the others and Sting was furiously trying to clean the wall and keep a straight face at Fro’s antics.

“No it doesn’t, Fro has a green face, see!”

“And it’ll just rub off on your pillow and your clothes anyways.”

“No…”

“Yes…”

“Awwww.” Fro looked extremely upset at this.

“C’mon, Fro, go ask Wendy for a plastic bag, we can try and get you a bit less paint-y.” Rogue told her.

Frosch sulked at her brother, but did what she was told anyway, leaving an awkward Rogue alone with a highly amused Sting.

“I, uh… I should get her home, I guess. See you in school on Monday.” Rogue muttered awkwardly.

“Sure,” Sting grinned, drying his hands (which were now distinctly non-green, as was the wall. “Actually, how about we meet up tomorrow? Just me and you? You can get Laxus to keep an eye on Frosch, right?”

“Sure…” Rogue trailed off, blushing. “I guess.”

“Great, so I’ll meet you at the ice cream place in town?” Sting smirked, seeming more than well aware of why exactly Rogue was blushing.

Rogue just nodded.

“Awesome,” Sting murmured, reaching out and brushing his thumb across Rogue’s cheek. “Sorry. You had, uh, paint. On your face.”

“Oh.”

Even Sting was blushing by this point, seemingly embarrassed by his own forwardness, and the two just stood there awkwardly for a minute or two afterwards.

“I should go. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Rogue practically ran out of the room to grab Frosch, say a quick goodbye  to Wendy and pick up his prescription from Grandeeney. Sting didn’t move an inch, his hand still tingling from where he’d brushed it across Rogue’s cheek and trying to think of the best way to tell his friend he was totally gay for him.


	15. Authors note

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've a lot of explaining to do

To cut a long story short I've seriously neglected this over the past few months and I'm really sorry for that. To explain as briefly as I can, I've had breakdowns and police interviews because of a court case (am the innocent party dw), left my part time job to start a new one, am changing both my university degree and my name and am in the middle of tests for cancer all whilst trying to get better mentally and look after myself. I honestly don't know how I'm doing it all but I am and tbh while this is an over share, none of you actually know me so it's all good.

That being said I'm determined to move on and fix my life as best I can and I decided to read this fic from start to finish and honestly - I can't stand it. There's so much I could've written better and so much I could have put in that I didn't and a lot of it feels too minimalist and rushed. Having said that, its still my baby and I love it at the same time so I'm going to just casually take it away for a while and dress it in some better clothes. By which I mean edit.

I want to carry on with this fic so badly but anything I wrote as this stage would feel awful to be perfectly honest. The main plot will remain the same, however there's likely to be more added into chapters; more chapters added in the middle and overall a better understanding of what's going on and backstory and relationships. I urge you to reread this as I repost it - I'm going to take down all chapters bar the prologue and even edit that too so you'll get update notifications for it as you'll possibly miss vital information and plot development if you don't reread.

Having said that - I've left this fic unattended for so long that I imagine some of you have upped and lost interest in it and that's okay. I can only apologise for that. But hopefully I'll be back soon with the newer, better dressed Finding Home (In fact I'm pulling my laptop out right now) so to those who are still interested, I'll try to do better from now on. I promised to finish it and I never break an honest promise.

Fro xx


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